The Doctrine of Nonaccumulation

Two commands of Jesus serve as the primary pillars on which this doctrine of nonaccumulation is built. The first is found in the Sermon on the Mount, in the sixth chapter of Matthew. Here, Jesus gives this command: Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth (Mt. 6:19). I had always heard Matthew 6:19 explained to mean that Jesus is telling us what kind of attitude we are to have about our possessions, not necessarily what we are to do with them. Because Jesus uses the word “treasures” in this passage, He is speaking only about those possessions that we “treasure” in our heart. A simple word study, however, will show that this is not the case. The word Jesus uses that has been translated as treasure simply means “wealth.” The words lay up simply mean to “store up,” or “to accumulate.” The most literal interpretation of this verse, therefore, is that Jesus forbids His followers to accumulate wealth on this earth. _______________________ But, we might ask, what exactly does it mean to accumulate wealth? If I have a thousand dollars in the bank, am I guilty of accumulating wealth? How about a hundred dollars? Or ten dollars? Jesus does not give us many specifics about putting this command into practice. But He does give us one example of someone who violated this command. This is found in the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:16–20. We all have heard many times this story of the rich farmer, about how he had made a large profit farming, about how he decided to tear down his barns and build greater, and about how God rebuked him and told him that he would die that very night. And we have heard many explanations about this parable and what the mistake was of this man that God called a “fool.” Some have said that his mistake was that he forgot to pray and ask God’s advice before making plans for the future. Others have said that his mistake was pride, or laziness, or self-sufficiency, or his failure to accept Christ. Thankfully, we do not have to speculate about what this man’s mistake was, because with this particular parable, Jesus provides us with the luxury of an explanation about what it meant. It is found in verse 21, and it begins with the words “so is he.” If Jesus had said, “so is he who forgets to seek counsel from God,” or “so is he who is proud,” or “so is he who fails to believe in Me,” then we would have this as our answer about the meaning of this parable. But Jesus doesn’t say any of these things. Instead, he says: So is he that layeth up treasure for himself (Lk. 12:21). So this man’s actions clearly fit into the category of “laying up treasures” in violation of the prohibition Jesus gave in Matthew 6:19. Note that Jesus does not condemn this man for earning the profits (nor, specifically, for owning the assets necessary to make the profits). It was the laying up of these profits on this earth that brought him into condemnation. This man had earned an income, paid his expenses, and converted the remainder into commodities that could have been given to those in need. But he chose instead to store them up indefinitely for himself. In doing so, he proved that he loved himself more than he loved others. He proved that his heart was here on earth, with his treasures, rather than in Heaven with God. And he missed forever the opportunity to invest in something that could never have been taken from him. _______________________ There are some very natural questions that will tend to arise if we decide that this command of Jesus (not to store up wealth on earth) was meant to be taken literally: “What if we have a large medical bill?” “What if I lose my job?” “What if I become disabled?” Jesus anticipated that such questions would arise, and therefore gives us this instruction: Therefore take no thought saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek) (Mt. 6:31-32). In other words, Jesus says, “I forbid you to ask this kind of question.” Why? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things (Mt. 6:32). The response of true faith is first to obey and then to leave the consequences in the hands of our all-loving, all-powerful Creator. _______________________ The idea that the word “treasures” refers only to those possessions that we treasure flies in the face of another statement Jesus made. Whereas this idea says we need to look first at our heart to determine whether our possessions are our treasure or not, Jesus says exactly the opposite. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Mt. 6:21). In other words, says Jesus, look first at your treasure (where you are making your investments), and that will tell you where your heart is. Don’t try to look first at your heart. It’s too deceitful, and probably won’t give you an honest answer anyway. Look instead at your possessions, and then you will know where your heart is. Many of us have tried to deny that this statement applies to us. We say that although we own an abundance of material things, our heart is not really in our possessions. Yet when the test actually comes, and we are faced with giving up those possessions, one by one we all prove that our heart actually was in them. For example, there are many people who have a large savings account or who own a number of investment properties. When asked about the purpose for owning these assets, they say it is so that they can take care of themselves in case of a calamity such as a large medical bill. When that large medical bill comes, however, these same people lament sadly that they had to “dip into savings” or “sell off property” to pay the bill, as though it were some sort of tremendous hardship to do so. _______________________ To summarize, it seems clear that Jesus’ command in Matthew 6:19 (“lay not up”) is a command not to accumulate wealth on this earth. It does not appear that our Lord is placing limits on the amount of money we earn. Rather, he is restricting what we do with that money once we have earned it. Specifically, He is forbidding us to accumulate it, to invest it, to store it up here on this earth. Perhaps, however, you will respond to this suggestion in much the same way that others have done: “But I just don’t believe that is what he is saying.” If that is your response, then I thank you for being honest. But before you ride off into the sunset with this as your opinion, please allow me to ask you two simple questions. First, if Jesus doesn’t really mean “don’t accumulate,” then what exactly does He mean by this command? What exactly is it that he is telling us not to do? Second, if Jesus would have wanted to forbid the accumulation of earthly wealth, how else could he have said it? What words could he have used to make Himself more clear?