Matthew 6:19-24.  Jesus did not oppose his disciples having personal possessions, but he did warn them not to lay up treasures on earth.  He wants to prevent his followers from being possessed by their possessions.  There are three very practical reasons why our master steers us away from the pursuit of personal wealth.

1. All personal wealth is temporary.  If the moths and rust do not get to it, the thieves (or the government) will.  Treasures laid up in heaven are as permanent as God is  (19-21).
2. Pursuit of personal wealth turns your light into darkness.  Your eye is the lamp of your life.  If it focuses on your stuff, then all that stuff will block the light.  If your light does not shine, then people who need the Father will not find him (22-23; cf. 5:14-16).
3. Pursuit of personal wealth prevents you from serving God.  You may join a church, and call yourself a Christian, but your daily decisions are based on your loyalty to your real master.  the word translated money here is mammon, an old Semitic word that can be rendered “what you trust in.”   In the end, we serve what we trust in.  Jesus warns his disciples that trusting in a closet full of treasures is a stupid thing to do.

LORD, give us the wisdom to make wise decisions about money and personal possessions.  May they never rule over us.  May they never come between us and our devotion to you, or our witness.