{"id":17576,"date":"2015-02-06T10:16:18","date_gmt":"2015-02-06T17:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=17576"},"modified":"2015-02-06T10:16:18","modified_gmt":"2015-02-06T17:16:18","slug":"new-testament-64-65","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html","title":{"rendered":"New Testament 64-65"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Colossi of Memnon
(Click to enlarge.)
These two heavily-damaged statues of Amenhotep IV (a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty; ca. 1350 BC) \u2014 located on the western bank of the Nile, across from Luxor \u2014 are all that remains today of his once-massive memorial temple. \u00a0They\u2019re each roughly sixty feet tall, and each weighs approximately 720 tons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Matthew 6:19-23<\/a><\/p>\n

Compare Luke 11:34-36; 12:33-34<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The transience of earthly treasures \u2014 referring not only to wealth, but to popularity, power, status, beauty, reputation, pleasure, and other such things \u2014 is a staple of religious moralizing, and not solely among Christians.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And justly so, because one of the most obvious and undeniable facts of human life is that such things don\u2019t last.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fame, beauty, reputation, power, and popularity typically fade \u2014 after death, if not (sometimes quite painfully) long before.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Status doesn\u2019t count for much in the grave.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The famous poem \u201cOzymandias,\u201d by the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), captures this well:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I met a traveller from an antique land<\/span>
Who said: \u201cTwo vast and trunkless legs of stone<\/span>
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,<\/span>
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,<\/span>
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,<\/span>
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read<\/span>
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,<\/span>
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:<\/span>
And on the pedestal these words appear:<\/span>
\u2018My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:<\/span>
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!\u2019<\/span>
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay<\/span>
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare<\/span>
The lone and level sands stretch far away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moreover, pleasures end. \u00a0But, very often, they begin to pall and to bore long before<\/em> they end.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, of course, great wealth can\u2019t buy us an escape from the grave, and can\u2019t accompany us into the world beyond.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I think, in this context, of an April 1968 General Conference talk given by Elder Spencer W. Kimball:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

One day, a friend took me to his ranch. He unlocked the door of a large new automobile, slid under the wheel, and said proudly, \u201cHow do you like my new car?\u201d We rode in luxurious comfort into the rural areas to a beautiful new landscaped home, and he said with no little pride, \u201cThis is my home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He drove to a grassy knoll. The sun was retiring behind the distant hills. He surveyed his vast domain. Pointing to the north, he asked, \u201cDo you see that clump of trees yonder?\u201d I could plainly discern them in the fading day.<\/span><\/p>\n

He pointed to the east. \u201cDo you, see the lake shimmering in the sunset?\u201d It too was visible.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow, the bluff that\u2019s on the south.\u201d We turned about to scan the distance. He identified barns, silos, the ranch house to the west. With a wide sweeping gesture, he boasted, \u201cFrom the clump of trees, to the lake, to the bluff, and to the ranch buildings and all between\u2014all this is mine. And the dark specks in the, meadow\u2014those cattle also are mine.\u201d . . .<\/span><\/p>\n

That was long years ago. I saw him lying in his death among luxurious furnishings in a palatial home. His had been a vast estate. And I folded his arms upon his breast, and drew down the little curtains over his eyes. I spoke at his funeral, and I followed the cortege from the good piece of earth he had claimed to his grave, a tiny, oblong area the length of a tall man, the width of a heavy one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday I saw that same estate, yellow in grain, green in lucerne, white in cotton, seemingly unmindful of him who had claimed it. Oh, puny man, see the busy ant moving the sands of the sea.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moreover, wealth cannot ultimately satisfy. \u00a0It\u2019s not bad, in itself, but it lacks the power to cure most ills, or to still our psychological and spiritual hungers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Edwin Arlington Robinson\u2019s 1897 poem \u201cRichard Cory\u201d is a memorable statement of this theme:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,<\/span><\/div>\n
We people on the pavement looked at him:<\/span><\/div>\n
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,<\/span><\/div>\n
Clean favored, and imperially slim.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And he was always quietly arrayed,<\/span><\/div>\n
And he was always human when he talked;<\/span><\/div>\n
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cGood-morning,\u201d and he glittered when he walked.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And he was rich\u2014yes, richer than a king\u2014<\/span><\/div>\n
And admirably schooled in every grace:<\/span><\/div>\n
In fine, we thought that he was everything<\/span><\/div>\n
To make us wish that we were in his place.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
So on we worked, and waited for the light,<\/span><\/div>\n
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;<\/span><\/div>\n
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,<\/span><\/div>\n
Went home and put a bullet through his head.<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

(If you\u2019d like, listen to Simon and Garfunkel\u2019s musical recasting of Robinson\u2019s theme in their own \u201cRichard Cory.\u201d \u00a0It\u2019s less than three minutes long: \u00a0https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dwqwAy85CgY<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe eye is the lamp of the body. \u00a0So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. \u00a0If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps this reflects some ancient theory of vision and physiology. \u00a0Surely it\u2019s meant to be taken metaphorically.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But what a powerful metaphor!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I think of the cynics with whom I come in too-frequent contact. \u00a0How great is the darkness! \u00a0Some people seem to see everything darkly. \u00a0All is, to them, sordid, self-interested, pointless, a snare and a delusion, an occasion for sneers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I pray that I never come to that point. \u00a0I pray that they escape.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Matthew 6:19-23 Compare Luke 11:34-36; 12:33-34 \u00a0 1. \u00a0 The transience of earthly treasures \u2014 referring not only to wealth, but to popularity, power, status, beauty, reputation, pleasure, and other such things \u2014 is a staple of religious moralizing, and not solely among Christians. \u00a0 And justly so, because one of the most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Testament 64-65<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Matthew 6:19-23 Compare Luke 11:34-36; 12:33-34   1.   The transience of earthly treasures -- referring not only to wealth, but to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Testament 64-65\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    Matthew 6:19-23 Compare Luke 11:34-36; 12:33-34   1.   The transience of earthly treasures -- referring not only to wealth, but to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-02-06T17:16:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/files\/2015\/02\/800px-Colossi-of-Memnonjs-300x184.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html\",\"name\":\"New Testament 64-65\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-02-06T17:16:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-02-06T17:16:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"    Matthew 6:19-23 Compare Luke 11:34-36; 12:33-34   1.   The transience of earthly treasures -- referring not only to wealth, but to\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Testament 64-65\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Testament 64-65","description":"    Matthew 6:19-23 Compare Luke 11:34-36; 12:33-34   1.   The transience of earthly treasures -- referring not only to wealth, but to","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Testament 64-65","og_description":"    Matthew 6:19-23 Compare Luke 11:34-36; 12:33-34   1.   The transience of earthly treasures -- referring not only to wealth, but to","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2015-02-06T17:16:18+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/files\/2015\/02\/800px-Colossi-of-Memnonjs-300x184.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html","name":"New Testament 64-65","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-02-06T17:16:18+00:00","dateModified":"2015-02-06T17:16:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"    Matthew 6:19-23 Compare Luke 11:34-36; 12:33-34   1.   The transience of earthly treasures -- referring not only to wealth, but to","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/02\/new-testament-64-65.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Testament 64-65"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17576\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}