Money Matters: I Heart Treasure

“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 moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Jesus said these words in what we usually call His “Sermon on the Mount” because He preached to the crowd while sitting on the side of a mountain. He’s talking about money here, but He makes a bigger point about this life: It’s not the one we’re built for.

money_350I know you know that. And you know I know that. But neither of us really gets it, I don’t think. We can’t quite talk our hearts out of the idea that a “good life” is all about getting what we want and not having bad things happen to us. That’s why we pull out those three little words whenever an evil person gets away with murder or a good person’s house gets flooded: “That’s not fair.”

Jesus’ teaching says, “You’ve got the wrong score card. Nothing in this life could be good enough to make up for living with all this pain. Nothing here could be bad enough to compare to the mind-shocking glory of the next life. Don’t play to win this sin-shortened existence; play for the one that matters.”

Think: What treasure matters most to you — what you might get in this life or what you could experience in heaven forever? Why do you think that is?

Pray: Ask God to help you to begin to care more about the riches of heaven than the dreams of earth.

Do: Make a short list of some of the earthly treasures (stuff, experiences, relationships, etc.) that your heart loves to hope for.