WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS

“Keep your lives free from the love of money because God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

-Hebrews 13:5

Long ago, Jesus said, “Do not store up 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).

It seems to me that our generation has its value system upside down. We aren’t willing to wait for anything tomorrow; it must be ours today. So much of our time is spent in the pursuit of “things” that we have lost sight of what really counts. It often takes a tragedy to understand this.

When a friend and I were finishing on the end of a pier, we noticed smoke coming out of a nearby house. We raced for the humble little cottage but it was too late. Flames were coming out the doors and had turned into a raging inferno. We learned that an oil furnace had exploded, and the house had almost instantly been enveloped in fire.

Outside stood the young father and mother and a little girl of about seven. The mother was crying and the dad was wringing his hands as in anguish he cried, “My God, all is lost.” The little girl reached up and took her daddy’s hand saying, “All’s not lost, Daddy, you got Mommy and Me!”

Houses can be rebuilt, but relationships endure long after the taste of material success has turned to ashes. What’s gone wrong that causes us to place greater value on things than people; that considers gold and glitter more important than love and friendship?

Jesus said, “Lay up treasures in heaven for where your treasure is your heart will be also.” The treasures that really count can’t be measured in gold and silver. Think about it.