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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
October, 1939
will your heart be also” (v. 21). “Heart” is perhaps the most inclusive psycholog ical term used in Seripture. It refers to the whole man. Therefore, the Lord is really, saying, as we might put it in modem speech: Where your investment is, there you will be. It is easy to miss His real point. He is not telling us that the way to be saved is to get rid of our material possessions. There is noth ing wrong In having possessions. The whole problem is one of values. It mat ters not whether you own ten thousand dollars or ten cents. The real question is, what do you think of your ten cents ? How important is it to you? Is it your supreme “treasure” ? If it is, then there is something wrong; you are not living where you should as a Christian; you are of the earth, earthy. 3. “The light of the body is the eye” (v. 22). This translation is not only wrong, but it also makes the Bible teach physiological error. The eye is certainly not the “light” of the body. Put the body in the midst of darkness, and the eye can furnish no light at all. The eye is merely an organ, very com plex and wonderful, which is able to receive light and transmit the light to other internal cells so that the mind itself perceives what the eye transmits. The eye is not the light, but the light- bearer. And that is really what our Lord said: “The lamp of the body is the eye.” The Greek word is not the same as in the latter part of the verse. 4. “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness” (v. 23). The picture here is terrible. It is not the picture of a man walking in darkness, and know ing that he is in the darkness. That would be bad enough. But the case our Lord had in mind was a man filled with darkness, walking in darkness, and all the while believing that the darkness is really light. This is one of the aspects of modernistic religion that we some times forget. Modernism is nothing but darkness. We know that. But the ap palling thing about modernism is that its devotees have come to believe that it is light, and offer it to blind men as light. “Woe unto them,” the Lord says, “. . . that put darkness for light” (Isa. 5:20). 5. “Ye cannot serve God and mam mon” (v. 24). “Mammon” is a Syriac word meaning wealth. Our Lord does not say, Ye cannot serve God and have wealth, but rather, You cannot serve God while you are 'making an idol of wealth. Golden Text Illustration . M atthew 6 :33 When Millet, whose “Angelus” capti-- vated the whole art-loving world, was about to depart from his home for Paris, where he was to become a pupil of Delaroche, his pious old grandmother said to him, “I would rather see you dead than unfaithful to God’s com mands.” And when he was just coming
r liance upon Christ, the Master. If the servant attempts to serve two masters, t “look two ways,” his effort will be utterly futile. It is impossible to serve both God and mammon. But if we truly believe that our Lord is the best Master, we will covet the single eye that looks only for His approbation and His re ward. The world pays its .reward today; He pays “tomorrow.” We are tempted to grasp the flimsy immediate reward, rather than the more distant and bet ter prize. HI. R eliance U pon the F ather (25-34) Anxious worry, fretting care, useless fear—all these combine to steal away composure, min assurance, and disturb the Christian’s calmness. Our Lord re veals the folly of worry. If the Creator is mindful of His smallest and humblest created things, how much more will the Father be mindful of His children ? Anxiety and worry and care and fear are all exhibitions of a lack of faith—• mistrust of God’s interest in His own. The “Gentiles,” or people of the na tions in general, who know nothing of the heavenly Father through faith in His Son, may conceivably be occupied with material things, for in these things centers their hope. The heavenly Father would have His children free to serve with a single eye, living without worry, trusting Him to supply their needs (Phil. 4:19), and laying up treasure in heaven. According to His promise, when He and His kingdom are put first in the believer’s life and endeavor, all need ful material things will be provided, in addition to the heavenly treasures. Let us learn to live with poise and compo sure and confidence in the present day, living care-less lives, but never living carelessly (cf. Phil. 4:6). Points and Problems 1. “Where moth , . . doth corrupt” (Matt. 6:19). Much of the wealth in ancient Oriental countries consisted in clothing. Compare Genesis 45:22, Joshua 7:21, Judges 14:12, for Biblical illustra tions. But this reference of our Lord is more than a mere Oriental antiquity. We forget sometimes that a vast amount of present-day wealth is invested in clothing, both commercially and individ ually. The heathen may be starving for the Bread of Life, but we must have our customary changes of raiment in fall,, winter, spring, and summer. 2. “For where your treasure is, there BLACKBOARD LESSON
b o d y s h a ll b e f u ll o f d a r k n e s s . I f th e r e fo r e th e l i g h t t h a t is in th e e b e d a r k - n e s s , h o w g r e a t is t h a t d a r k n e s s ! 24 N o m a n c a n s e rv e tw o m a s te r s t fo r e ith e r h e w ill h a te th e o n e, a n d l o r e th e o th e r ; o r e ls e h e w ill h o ld to th e o n e , a n d d e s p is e th e o th e r. Y e c a n n o t s e rv e God a n d m am m o n . 25 T h e re f o r e I s a y u n to y o u , T a k e n o th o u g h t f o r y o u r life , w h a t y e s h a ll e a t, o r w h a t y e s h a ll d r in k ; n o r y e t f o r y o u r b o d y , w h a t y e s h a ll p u t o n . I s n o t th e life m o re t h a n m e a t, a n d th e b o d y th a n r a im e n t? 26 B e h o ld th e fo w ls o f th e a i r : fo r th e y s o w n o t, n e i th e r d o th e y re a p , n o r g a t h e r in to b a r n s ; y e t y o u r h e a v e n ly F a th e r f e e d e th th e m . A re y e n o t m u c h b e t te r th a n th e y ? 27 W h ic h o f y o u b y ta k in g th o u g h t c a n a d d o n e c u b it u n to h is s ta t u r e ? 28 A nd w h y t a k e y e th o u g h t f o r r a i m e n t? C o n s id e r th e lilie s o f th e fie ld , h ow th e y g r o w ; th e y to i l n o t, n e i th e r d o th e y s p in : 29 A n d y e t I s a y u n to y o u . T h a t e v e n S o lom o n in a ll h is g lo r y w a s n o t a r r a y e d lik e o n e o f th e s e . 30 W h e r e f o r e , i f G o d so c l o t h e th e g r a s s o f th e fie ld , w h ic h to d a y is a n d to m o r r o w is c a s t in to th e o v e n , s h a ll h e n o t m u c h m o re c lo th e y o u , O y e o f li t t l e f a ith ? 31 T h e re f o r e t a k e n o th o u g h t, s a y in g , W h a t s h a ll w e e a t? o r, W h a t s h a ll w e d r i n k ? o r, W h e r e w ith a l s h a ll w e b e c lo th e d ? 32 ( F o r a f t e r a l l th e s e th i n g s d o th e G e n tile s s e e k :) f o r y o u r h e a v e n ly F a th e r k n o w e th t h a t y e h a v e n e e d o f a ll th e s e th in g s . 33 B u t s e e k y e f i r s t th e k in g d o m o f Go d, a n d h is r ig h te o u s n e s s ; a n d a ll th e s e th i n g s s h a ll b e a d d e d u n to y o u . 34 T a k e th e r e f o r e n o th o u g h t f o r th e m o r r o w : f o r th em o r r o w s h a ll ta k e th o u g h t f o r th e th i n g s o f its e lf . S u ffi c ie n t u n to th e d a y is th e e v il th e r e o f . G O LD EN T E X T * « B u t s e e k y e f i r s t th e k in g d o m o f G od , a n d h is r ig h te o u s n e s s ” (M a tt. 6 :3 3 ). D E V O T IO N A L R E A D IN G : L k . 5:1 -1 1. Outline and Exposition I. R eliance U pon the K eeper (19-21) B REASURES laid up in heaven cannot be destroyed. Treasures on earth are always subject to jeopardy; their safety is un certain. , Our Lord was not teaching that it is sinful to possess treasure. He was warning against its loss. The rich man was not sinful because he had treasure in his bam, but he was foolish in his attitude toward his possessions; either he himself might die and thus be taken from his treasure, or the bam might bum and his treasure be taken from him. Our Lord taught that it is possible to lay up treasure where it neither can be taken from the owner nor the owner from it. The truly wise man will place his treasure in the hands of One who can guarantee its security. In his heart, he must rely fully upon the heavenly Keeper. If the heart is centered upon the things of time and sense, the treas ure will of necessity be bound up with those transitory things. I t R eliance U pon the M aster (22-24) The word “single” means “looking one way.” If the servant has a single eye, his service will be concentrated and given without sti .t of loyalty. The eye is the “lamp” of the body. If it is not “looking one way,” it cannot warn of dangers to be avoided. Singleness of aim cannot exist without
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