Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In other words, you will care ABOUT whatever you invest money IN. For example, I was talking with one of my new neighbors recently and discovered that he’s a bow hunter. We got talking because I’ve been thinking about purchasing a bow myself. Man was he enthusiastic about his bow! He could hardly wait to take it out to show me. He passionately explained each part and what it did. He passionately defended Hoyt bows vs Matthews bows, explaining why Hoyt was better in his opinion. He went on and on, showing me a device he used to clock the speed of his arrows as he shot them. He showed me his shooting range in the back yard and much much more. Now as I’ve looked into buying a bow, I’ve learned why my new neighbor is so passionate about his. It’s because he’s got a lot of money invested in that bow. The bow by itself was like $900. The sights were another $400. He had a high-end stabilizer, high-end strings, and a high-end quiver. Because he was invested in the bow, he was passionate about the bow.
I read somewhere this week that the average person will spend $805 on gifts this Christmas season (a 14 year high according to the Florida Retail Federation). This explains why so many fights break out on Black Friday. People get passionate ABOUT whatever they’re investing money IN.
Now here’s the gospel (the good news) of Matthew 6:21. The principle works both ways! So far I’ve shared two negative examples of how one’s heart can turn towards the wrong things, but the good news is that by investing in the right things, our hearts can become passionate about the right things. Namely, by investing IN the things of God, our heart becomes passionate ABOUT the things of God!
So how do we become (and stay) passionate about the things of God? This is where the giving of our tithes and offerings come into play. God asks the nation of Israel in Malachi 3:8, “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” The tithe is 10%. God says that part belongs to him. Now this is so interesting to me. God could’ve made the requirement 2% or 3% or 4%. But He didn’t. He said that His part is 10%. Have you ever thought about why God says 10%? I believe the tithe is the threshold of where our heart becomes fully engaged in the things of God. So how do we become (and stay) passionate about the things of God? First, by tithing. Now secondly, by giving offerings. An offering is anything you give above and beyond the tithe. This is why we do a special annual Christmas Offering. We want to give you the opportunity to deepen your passion for God. Every time you give of your tithes and offerings, it’s like adding a couple pieces of wood to your fire for God. Question for ya: Is your fire about to die? Or is it raging? The good news is that you can do something about it if it’s not where you want it to be!