Ash Wednesday
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
We invest in things with the expectation of receiving a return on our investment. While this is particularly
clear when investing money, it is equally true of the other investments that we make. We invest in relationships with the expected returns of friendship, community, and support. We invest in our marriages with the expected returns of love, intimacy, and companionship. We invest in our children with the expectation that they will grow up to be good and productive citizens who will make us proud, provide us with grandchildren, and help us navigate the end stages of our lives. We also invest in our homes, our careers, our community, our congregations, etc. all with the hope that these investments will provide dividends of some sort. But what motivates us to invest in God?
For some people, investing in the Lord means redirecting some of their resources from worldly investments to spiritual investments. They use a part of the money, time, skills, abilities, etc. that they also use toward gaining financial security, status, power, or notoriety in the world to try to gain righteousness before God. They publicly give to the needy so people will know of their generosity. They make a show of prayer so that people will know how spiritual they are. They especially make sure that people know the sacrifices that they are making to serve God so that people will be impressed by their faithfulness. But these investments only yield status, power, or notoriety among people. They do not and cannot produce righteousness before God. The praise of men is their only reward.
Jesus pointed out the foolishness of seeking God’s favor by investing in Him through worldly things and worldly ways. In contrast to these failed investments, He tells us “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth … but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” This is a call to live our whole lives and to make use of everything that God has entrusted to us for the good of His Kingdom. It is an investment like no other, because the desired return has already been secured for us and guaranteed to us by He who invested Himself for our salvation.
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