Chase What Matters

Chase Bank has this commercial. In it we see a guy buying a yacht, a man opening his garage and breathing a sigh of satisfaction at the sight of his cars, a husband and wife crossing the threshold of a gorgeous home. We hear a soothing voiceover reminding us that we work hard for our money and deserve our reward. And the commercial wraps up with the Chase Bank slogan: Chase What Matters.

In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus is in the midst of preaching what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. Here he tells his disciples not to store up treasures on earth, but treasures in heaven. He reminds them that the eyes are the lamp of the body, and that no one can serve two masters. And we read Jesus' words and we nod our heads without thinking about the implications.

The passage is so basic. Treasures in heaven, not on earth. Serve God and nothing else. It's important to remember that Jesus’ language of heaven refers to the here and now as well as the hereafter. He is saying that we will find greater reward in this life if we seek God above all else, keep our eyes on Him, and serve Him only.

And so this is a passage where the Kingdom runs up against “the real world.” We are told a story, almost from birth, that goes something like this. Succeed. Get yours. Make progress. Know that you are making progress because once you lived in 800 square feet and now you live in 1200 and one day you’ll live in 1600. Understand that there will be compromises you must make and masters you must serve in order to build up your treasures or, at the very least, your portfolio.

And we accept that this story is true because it’s the one everyone is telling. And then we hear the story of Jesus, which also rings true, and we try to make the first story work alongside the story that Jesus is telling. And here is Jesus saying it can’t. You cannot serve both God and Mammon (stuff, things, wealth, security). You cannot live out God’s plan and pursue America's dream. You have to choose. 

Now to those who have fallen in love with one story (or, at least, can't see how to get out of it) this sounds like bad news. Everything Jesus ever said about money and stuff sounds like bad news for those who have lots of money and stuff. But Jesus means it as good news. As freedom.

A young author named Joshua Ferris recently wrote a novel called Then We Came To The End. It is a story reminiscent of the television show The Office or the movie Office Space,a commentary on the daily grind of the "wage slave." In the novel, there is a passage about those that “get free”: 

Yet for all the depression no one ever quit. When someone quit, we couldn't believe it. 'I'm becoming a rafting instructor on the Colorado River,' they said. 'I'm touring college towns with my garage band.' We were dumbfounded. It was like they were from another planet. Where had they found the derring-do? What would they do about car payments? We got together for going away drinks on their final day and tried to hide our envy all the while reminding ourselves that we still had the freedom and luxury to shop indiscriminately.

Now stop for a second and ask yourself if some part of that rings true. And that’s just talking about being a rafting instructor or in a garage band. Jesus offers the freedom to begin to live in the Kingdom right here and now. We’ve seen the lives of those who “settled for less” so that they might have more; so that they might have the “abundant life” that Jesus promised. We’ve heard their stories. My own father tells a story of being so afraid to lose his paycheck that he stopped trying to do real Kingdom work...and he worked for a church.

The truly sad and sick part is that, when we settle for earthly treasures, we commit ourselves to making them the good news. Now that we’ve put all this time and effort into this job, this car, this house, this stuff, we find we've put our heart into them too, that we want them to matter more than they do. And so we’re like those in Then We Came To The End, reminding ourselves that we still have the freedom and luxury to shop indiscriminately all the while knowing what an empty victory that is.

Jesus says the eyes are the lamp of the body. This is God’s call for us not to lose focus. If we focus on your own dreams and desires, our own hopes and happiness, then that’s all we’ll have to light our way. We cannot expect to keep our eyes on one thing and receive light from another. If Christ is whom we seek, then our lives can be full of light. If happiness and security and money and Mammon are what we seek, then their light will seem like darkness and our lives will feel empty and wasted. There is a reason why this country is more rich and less happy than it has ever been, the two things aren't disconnected.

We cannot pile up stuff and still be free to pursue Christ. Money and Mammon make demands and give orders and call us to obey. If you don't see a Mercedes commercial as a call to worship, then you haven't been paying attention. We can live for the Almighty Dollar or the Almighty God, but we cannot do both. This is a passage about priorities and a call to sort them out. 

When your life is over will you rejoice in having put first things first or regret that you didn’t? In the end, will we have chased what matters?