Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither most nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Mt. 6:19)

This passage follows a long list of sayings of Jesus about prayer, fasting, love of neighbor, and almsgiving. Jesus is teaching his disciples about the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven and the way in which people are called to live. They are not bound by the old Law, the world full of legalism, judgementalism, and hypocrisy but they are called to follow Jesus who is the fulfillment of the Law. Jesus tells his followers, "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come to fulfill them. He was the only one capable of fulfilling the requirements of the Law because he was the Son of God. Finally after a long litany of statements comes the one concerning storing up treasures on earth and in heaven.

During the time of Jesus as well as today people tend to store up treasures on earth. People build big homes, drive big cars, and seek big salaries because they or think that they "deserve" them. In other words most people are not thankful and grateful for what they have and for the life that the Lord has given them. This does not mean that we should ignore those who are in real financial or material distress, but that most of us have more than we need to survive. We store up treasures on earth.

Jesus is telling his disciples that instead of storing up treasures on earth (homes, cars, bank accounts) we should be storing up or investing in the Kingdom of Heaven. This means being charitable to those in need whether it is food, clothing, shelter, or money. We should be good stewards of the resources that are in our control whether it be money, real estate, or other material possessions. A steward is not the master, but the one who is assigned to take care of the master’s resources. In Roman times the "steward" was the chief slave in the house and his job was to take care of the property while the master was away. He was in charge of the lands, food, and money. But the chief slave did not "own" these, but he was only to take care of them. Are we good STEWARDS of our resources or do we think that we are the MASTER (God??)

Jesus also spoke to his disciples about either serving God or mammon (money).

Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (money) (Mt. 6:24).

The Lord wants us to love and worship him without serving anything else. He does not want us to worship idols (money) but him alone. He wants ALL of us, not just part of us. Being devoted to the Lord also means that we trust the Lord completely and totally. This means being faithful, humble, and always caring for the needs of the other. But this also means that we need to financially support the local worshipping community, and in our situation this is Nativity of the Holy Virgin Church. By being good STEWARDS of our financial resources we learn to become better Christians. If we realize that everything we have is given to us by the Lord then it is natural that we give back to Him to aide the work of the Church. Our financial contributions assist in the spreading of the Gospel message here in Charlotte and the surrounding area. Financial contributions are needed for the purchasing of Sunday school materials, for future retreats where guest speakers can teach us about Orthodox Christianity, for the support of local, diocesan, and national charities. Perhaps one day our parish can sponsor some parishioners in a missionary trip where they can assist other Christians in foreign countries. There are are numerous projects we can have but it all depends on our parish STEWARDSHIP.