Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow / Livestream
The temptation to splurge and accumulate items after earning money is understandable.
But Jason Fritz, lead pastor at Illuminate Community Church, warns that material items can be misleading.
“The way you treasure is through your heart,” Fritz said during Monday's Chapel at Global Credit Union Arena. “Also understand, too, that Jesus doesn’t need your money. But what He wants is your heart.
“The cold, hard fact is the way we spend what we have is a good indicator of what’s important to us. And there were people living in Jesus’ time that got it all wrong, and He spoke directly to them.”
Fritz shared how he and his wife fell into a false sense of security when they were a young couple 32 years ago. He was earning $500 a month while serving as an intern at a seminary. But his wife Jill, who graduated from Grand Canyon University with a degree in elementary education, immediately landed a job with a $26,000 annual salary.
“I was like, ‘I’m a millionaire,” Fritz recalled. “I married a sugar mom.”
They started becoming consumers until they realized they did not necessarily need their recently acquired goods.
“The point isn’t that we shouldn’t have treasures, but Jesus presses in and He says, ‘Keep your things in their proper place, because if you have anything higher than your affection for God, then that becomes a problem for you, because the thing that you set your heart upon will determine the course of your life. Yet, what you value, what you treasure most, will determine the course of your life.’ ”
Furthermore, it is not right to seek attention for good deeds, such as helping the needy. Fritz, referencing Matthew 6:1-6, discusses how the religious leaders of Jesus’ day were called out for doing everything possible to gain attention for their contributions.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father, who is in Heaven."
Fritz said, "Thus, when you give to the needy -- and notice that He says when you give, not if you give -- sound no trumpet before you ask the hypocrites in the synagogues and the streets, which is kind of a crazy thing to think about. It's like, what a way to announce your presence and your generosity. It's like playing a trumpet that will draw attention so that they may be praised by others.”
He made a distinction between seeking attention and doing the right thing for the sake of others. One of his friends moved his family to the Nashville area but was told he was welcomed to return to the Valley in case of a weather event and merely had to show up without any advance notice.
“Now before you start thinking that I’m an OK guy, Jesus takes it further, because he says, ‘Give to those who are in need. Give to the poor,’ “ Fritz said. “And what happens oftentimes in life is to acquire stuff. You start to distance yourself from the poor, and people in America will say, ‘Well, hey, man, that doesn't apply to me, and I have nothing.’
“If you have food in the fridge, if you have clothes in your closet, if you have a personal computer, you are among the world's elite wealth when most of the world lives on about $2 a day. See, wealth is relative. We are the rich, Jesus says. Get close to the poor. And the cure for the greed -- that is, the idolatry that is greed -- the cure for that is generosity.”
Fritz uses Matthew 19:16 as an example, where a young man wants to know what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus replies: “There's only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
The young man said he has kept the commandments perfectly -- not murdering, not committing adultery, not stealing, not bearing false witness while honoring his mother and father.
But the young man asked Jesus what he was lacking.
“If you would be perfect, because that's what it's going to take, go sell what you possess and give to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven,” Jesus said. “Then you come and you follow Me.”
The young man left dejected because he had a plethora of wealth.
At the start of Chapel, Fritz acknowledged the youth of the audience and recognized that they probably have not thought much about when they will take their last breath as he took a deep breath for emphasis.
Fritz, who will turn 55 in a few weeks, said he wakes up daily and says to himself, “Jesus, lead me today.”
“I’m hopeful that after making this simple prayer every morning, before I know it, I’m going to open my eyes and at that moment, I will have realized that Jesus has led me all the way to heaven, and I will hear the words, ‘Welcome, good and faithful servant.’
“I want you guys to have more of a head start than what I had.
Fritz’s final words of advice came from Matthew 19:27-30.
- Live a simple life. Referring to Luke 12:15, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for One’s life does not persist in the abundance of his possessions.”
“We live in a look-at-me society,” Fritz said. “ … Become minimalistic. Maximize a heavenly prophet.”
- If you are going to store up treasures in heaven, then you’re going to have to take all of your fears and anxieties and worries and bring them before the throne of God.
“Jesus said, ‘Come to me all who are weary, I will give you rest.'" Rest does not describe our world because when you’re filled with anxiety and worry, maybe you’re a little bit more self-consumed. Maybe you’re not thinking about how you can bless others.”
- Finally, Fritz said, treasure Jesus most of all.
Next Chapel speaker, 11 a.m. Oct. 21, Global Credit Union Arena: Tree Demeter, Redemption Church of Peoria
GCU News Senior Writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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