# What Is So Good About Eternal Things?



## InSlaveryToChrist (Jan 18, 2011)

“*Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or
steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.*
The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear,
your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad,
your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that
is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can
serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and wealth.” (Matthew 6:19-24)

I've pondered on this for a long time. Everytime I hear this passage preached or taught by pastors or other Christians they give you the impression that there is something _inherently_ good in _eternal _things, as opposed to _temporal _things. Is this really what Jesus is teaching? And how does this fit to the context? When you carefully look at Jesus' wording, it seems as if he is saying, "Don't treasure up riches on earth, WHERE (NOT 'because') you will eventually lose them! Instead, treasure up riches on heaven, WHERE (again, NOT 'because') you won't lose them!" And then he seems to give the actual reason for why we should do as he guides us to: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Doesn't make any sense to me... I still end up getting the impression that there is something _inherently_ good in _eternal_ things, as opposed to _temporal_ things. What is Jesus saying here?


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## Skyler (Jan 18, 2011)

Well, I think you'd be hard pressed to say that eternal punishment was inherently good. "Good" doesn't necessarily follow from "eternal". I _would_ argue that "good" necessarily follows from "heaven", since there won't be anything bad in heaven.


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## InSlaveryToChrist (Jan 18, 2011)

Skyler said:


> Well, I think you'd be hard pressed to say that eternal punishment was inherently good. "Good" doesn't necessarily follow from "eternal". I _would_ argue that "good" necessarily follows from "heaven", since there won't be anything bad in heaven.


 
Then, what is Jesus saying? Also, how should we define "treasures in heaven"?


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## Skyler (Jan 18, 2011)

He's making a contrast between serving God and serving Mammon, as is seen in the following verses. The difference between the two, in these particular verses, is that the treasure you get from serving God lasts an awful lot longer than the treasure you get from serving Mammon. The eternality doesn't make it good, any more than making punishment eternal makes it good; but it's sort of like a multiplier, in that an eternal good thing is better than a good thing that passes away.

You could say it makes good things better and bad things worse.

Of course that's using "good" and "bad" loosely, since we're not talking about moral good and bad here. I hope that's clear.

As for defining "treasures in heaven", I'm not sure how literally we should take it. Between this passage and 1 Corinthians 3, some people believe that our good works impact the reward we will receive in heaven. Others disagree. I lean towards the former option, but the Bible is vague enough on the issue that I'm not willing to say for sure one way or the other.


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## InSlaveryToChrist (Jan 19, 2011)

I'd like to hear more opinions on Jesus' words here.


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