Today I want to talk about a couple of parallel parables that can really speak volumes to modern culture. These come right near the end of the largest grouping of parables in the Gospel of Matthew (in fact, it's the only grouping of parables in Matthew), and they add up to a grand total of three verses. Yet these three verses lay a crushing blow to today's society and the way we value things. In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus says to His disciples,
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it."
Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven as a thing of greater value than anything each of those men previously owned. They were so taken and enamored by the incredible worth before them that they gave everything up for the sake of this one treasure. In the first parable, the man seemingly stumbles upon this great treasure and then takes action to acquire it. In the second, the merchant has been searching for something like this pearl of great value, and gives everything up when he has found that for which he has been looking, the ultimate goal of his search.
Contrast that willingness to give up everything with today's culture of convenience. We are very protective of the things we call our own, and we don't want anyone getting between us and our stuff. Storage facilities are becoming increasingly necessary because we can't even fit everything we own into our houses, but we refuse to get rid of it. And these days, with the advent of ever-developing technology, we could "give up" something only to send it to the almighty "cloud" where we can access it any time we want. In this case, we're not giving anything up at all.
Imagine being in the shoes of one of these men, and you find something of such great value that you just have to have it. What if the only way to get it would be to sell everything else you owned? Could you bring yourself to do it? Now think of it this way: that treasure is salvation and the promise of eternal life in Christ, and all the things you would sell for it are your idols. That is really what Jesus is getting at with these parables. He had a similar encounter with a rich young ruler...
And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:16-22)
This young man obviously realizes that he still lacks something in his spiritual disciplines, and he comes to Jesus hoping for a specific thing to conquer. The word "perfect" is the Greek word τέλειος (teleios), which means to be perfected or complete. This shows a much deeper level of spiritual maturity and commitment, being willing to give up all you have for the sake of gaining eternal life. This young man is too infatuated with the things of this world to give them up; that is his idol. That is what he needed to give up in order to gain that thing of greatest value, salvation through Christ. David Turner mentions in his commentary on Matthew that the parables of the treasure and the pearl are "picture[s] of the sacrifice entailed in discipleship when kingdom values are taken seriously" (Baker Exegetical Commentary" Matthew; p.352).
My family has always held to this idea of living life with open hands. This may be a familiar analogy to some. We are willing to let God take our possessions from us and not seek to hold onto something in this world for dear life. In this analogy, the minute your hand closes around something, you have made it an idol and are no longer willing to let God take it and use it in whatever way He sees fit.
What are you holding onto? Is there anything in your life to which you are desperately clinging? Maybe it's your phone, or a perpetual sin, or even something inherently good like your family and friends. I think it's worth taking a considerable amount of time this week to go before the Lord and pray that He would enable you to relinquish your hold on the cares of this world. If we are going to take our faith seriously, it will come out in the way we treat our worldly possessions. Remember, the things of this world are passing away. As C.T. Studd once put it in a poem, "Only one life, 'twill soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last."