Main Thought
A lot of people want to get closer to God. We often use this language intuitively, but what do we really mean by that? To be closer to God is to experience more of His love, and to love Him more in response. In order to love God more, we need to give Him our hearts. But our hearts are pulled in many other directions. We need to move our hearts toward God. This is something that tends to happen gradually.
Jesus taught us an effective - and surprising - way to gradually move our hearts toward God in Matthew 6:19-24. Giving money to God can help us give our hearts to Him. In doing so, we make the willful decision to value God and His Kingdom more. We give to God when our money goes toward things that facilitate the worship of God, and when we help make a way for others to know Him. Moving our finances toward God moves our focus toward God. When we focus on God, our awareness of Him and His love grows. We get closer to Him.
Main Passages
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Matthew 6:19-21
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.'
- Matthew 6:22-24
'And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. '
- Matthew 22:37-38
Discussion Questions
What stands out to you in the Main Thought or the Main Passages above?
Think about the statement Jesus makes in Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What do you think that means? How would you rephrase that statement in your own words?
Have you ever thought about giving as a means to get closer to God? Has giving to God ever helped you feel closer to Him, or do you think it could?