Where is Your Treasure?

²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:20-22

Several days ago I was listening to the radio as I was going to pay a bill. The woman began to tell a story about her family at the beach. She described how she had a large desire for something and her daughter had a large desire for something. Her daughter wanted sometime in her life to find a real shark's tooth on the beach, not in a gift shop somewhere. Every time she had found one before her daddy would always tell her, "No that's not one or no that's not the real thing." Her heart would sink each time. This particular day she was walking along the beach with her family searching intently for her treasured object, giving every piece of her to just lay her eyes on it once. She eventually came across something she thought was a real shark's tooth. She picked it up and showed it to her father with anticipation that she would finally hear "Good job, You found one!" She waited and he finally told her it was a real shark's tooth. She was elated and began yelling that she had found her treasure. Her parents asked her if she would like for them to hold onto it for her so she would not lose it. She said,"No.", and let them know she could do it. She continued her walk along the beach and about five minutes later her mom began to hear screeching sobs. The little girl had lost her valued treasure. As I continued to listen to the story it reminded me of how we so often try to do things on our own and in our own strength. We try to acquire treasures that one day will be lost and gone anyway. We try to place our value in things that are going to be destroyed.

¹Now listen, you rich people,

weep and wail because of the misery

that is coming upon you. ²Your wealth has rotted,

and moths have eaten your clothes.

³Your gold and silver are corroded.

Their corrosion will testify against you

and eat your flesh like fire. You have

hoarded wealth in the last days.

James 5:1-3

God wants us to depend on Him and place our worth and value in Him. He wants us to build up the treasures that will last for Eternity. He wants us build our foundation on Him and therefore it will not disappear or corrode or rot away. He wants us to look to Him for our answers. So where is your treasure today? Where is your heart? God wants you to live life and live it abundantly and the way to do this is to remember who and what we are living for.

¹⁸Command them to do good,

to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous

and willing to share. ¹⁹In this way

they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation

for the coming age, so that they may

take hold of the life that is truly life.

²⁰Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care.

Turn away from godless chatter and

the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge

1 Timothy 6:18-20