If I won the lottery…I would...
What would you do? There is an idealized sense of security, happiness, and freedom from problems that having just a bit more brings. I feel it. Do you?
Often times we think of and see wealthy powerful people as those who are free from the kinds of difficulty we face and are “in charge” of others and their situations. Yet, Jesus, the most powerful person who ever walked this earth didn’t treat others as minions or pawns. Last week we started this “Flipped” blog series by looking at power. Power is not ultimately demonstrated by an ability to force others to do things, but by our ability to give of ourselves sacrificially.
This same counter intuitive thinking applies to our treasure. We all love treasure. Not the pirate following a map to where X marks the spot kind of treasure, but we do love our stuff. Money and what money can buy. Marketers know this and the promises in commercials would be laughable if not so effective to get us to swipe our card.
Jesus speaks straight to our wallet when he says,
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).
Note first that the pursuit of treasure isn’t dismissed as evil itself. Treasure are those things we value above all else because they consume our thoughts and are what we pursue. The corrective is similar to how we treat young children who don’t realize their desires are misplaced. Maturity teaches us that more candy and fast food won’t actually satisfy us like we thought as a young child. Likewise, here Jesus says to pursue treasure, but don’t be so pre-occupied with money that you miss the lasting treasure of eternal significance.
This is not to minimize very real inequity and poverty. However, to the vast majority of us not dealing with poverty on a global scale the point hits deep. Money is great, but in many ways, it is like cotton candy with fleeting pleasure in light of eternity.
Instead of storing up treasure here on earth, use your money now to store up treasure in heaven for eternity.
Q. What do you treasure? How does your money control you and how do you master it?
Q. In what tangible ways do you financially store up treasure in heaven?
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