<p>6:19&nbsp;<em>Do not store up for yourselves treasures upon the earth</em>- see on 6:18 &ldquo;openly&rdquo;.</p>
<p><em>Where moth and rust consume</em>- Or, &quot;corrupt&quot;. James 5:2 alludes here and states that wealth is already rusted and moth-eaten. So this perhaps was the Lord&rsquo;s idea here, although the grammar is unclear. The idea of gold is that it doesn&rsquo;t rust. What appears to be permanent material wealth is not, and is already rusted in God&rsquo;s eyes.</p>
<p><em>And where thieves break in and steal</em>- Literally, &lsquo;dig through&rsquo;. Relevant to the earth houses of the very poorest people. The Lord&rsquo;s return is going to break up the house of those not looking for His return (Mt. 24:43 s.w.). It may be that &lsquo;thieves&rsquo; is an intensive plural referring to the great thief, whom Jesus likens to Himself in Mt. 24:43. In this case He would be saying that He will take human wealth anyway at the last day- so we should give it to Him now and not seek it.<br />
Because we know people (and brethren) who are richer and more wealth-seeking than we are, it's fatally easy to conclude that therefore we aren't rich, therefore we aren't materialistic. This is part of the subtle snare of materialism; that we all think that this is an area where we're not doing too badly; that really, we don't care&nbsp;<em>that</em>&nbsp;much where we live, or what the furniture's like, or whether we have money to take a holiday... But remember, our attitude to materialism is the litmus test of all our spirituality. None of us should be so quick to say that we're OK in this area. &quot;Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break (Gk. dig) through and steal&quot; (Mt. 6:19) was spoken to a huge crowd of Jewish peasants. The Lord wasn't only referring to the few rich men who might be hanging around on the edge of the group. He was talking to all of them. He knew their mud walled homes which thieves could so easily dig through. That little cheap bangle, that ring, thinly buried under the bed mat after the pattern of Achan, that prized tunic... the petty riches of the poor which they so strove for, which&nbsp;<em>to them</em>&nbsp;were priceless treasures. This is what the Lord was getting at; and His point was that&nbsp;<em>every one of us</em>, from beggar to prince, has this 'laying up' mentality. He is almost ruthless in His demands.</p>