“Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
I’ve read this verse for years, but I guess it was one of those that kind of made me uncomfortable. I felt like I “got it”, but I don’t think I really did. I think the big clincher for me was Randy Alcorn’s book, Money, Possessions, and Eternity. That is definitely not a comfortable book to read for anyone living the life of luxury. And as he points out, if you have a computer or cell phone or television, as well as a roof over your head and enough food to eat, then you are in the top 1% of the world’s wealthiest people. Wrap your brain around that for a second.
That means, if I can’t afford a new car, or that trip to the salon, what - in the BIG picture - am I really missing out on? It’s ok to have and do things that we enjoy; it doesn’t make us sinners. BUT if we start thinking of every thing we own, or every dollar we spend in relation to eternity, how will that affect our day-to-day decisions? For us, it involved making the commitment to officially tithe, on every bit of money we make, every week, rather than when it wouldn’t “stretch” us a little thin. It also meant deciding to sell my fancier car for something more practical, and to sell our 2nd vehicle (still for sale ~ anybody want to buy a Jeep?). That will mean some inconvenience, but we don’t want to be slaves to our money, slaves to a paycheck. There are many ways our thinking about what we own and what we spend has changed in the past year or so, and I have a feeling God isn’t done with us on that topic.
Even if we can afford all the niceties, how does having a Ferrari in the garage glorify God or help bring others to him? That car, and all the other things we own will someday be nothing but a heap of rust. My home will be nothing but dust. That is hard for me to handle. So since collecting things here is pointless, how do we store up those treasures in heaven? By doing things that matter for eternity. By allowing Christ to work through us to bless those around us, and to have some part in helping others to know Christ or to grow in their relationship with him. That is true treasure.
And that bit about your heart being where your treasure is? I have been learning more and more how true that really is. If you tithe, especially when things are tight, you are making a choice to trust God to meet your needs by showing him you’re going to choose to give back to him even before that stack of bills is paid. If you sponsor a child in Haiti, you will begin to care more deeply about the plight of children there and around the world. If your money is in going to your house and your car, then you are going to care quite a lot about those things. What do I want to care about? Then that’s where my money needs to go.
That means, if I can’t afford a new car, or that trip to the salon, what - in the BIG picture - am I really missing out on? It’s ok to have and do things that we enjoy; it doesn’t make us sinners. BUT if we start thinking of every thing we own, or every dollar we spend in relation to eternity, how will that affect our day-to-day decisions? For us, it involved making the commitment to officially tithe, on every bit of money we make, every week, rather than when it wouldn’t “stretch” us a little thin. It also meant deciding to sell my fancier car for something more practical, and to sell our 2nd vehicle (still for sale ~ anybody want to buy a Jeep?). That will mean some inconvenience, but we don’t want to be slaves to our money, slaves to a paycheck. There are many ways our thinking about what we own and what we spend has changed in the past year or so, and I have a feeling God isn’t done with us on that topic.
Even if we can afford all the niceties, how does having a Ferrari in the garage glorify God or help bring others to him? That car, and all the other things we own will someday be nothing but a heap of rust. My home will be nothing but dust. That is hard for me to handle. So since collecting things here is pointless, how do we store up those treasures in heaven? By doing things that matter for eternity. By allowing Christ to work through us to bless those around us, and to have some part in helping others to know Christ or to grow in their relationship with him. That is true treasure.
And that bit about your heart being where your treasure is? I have been learning more and more how true that really is. If you tithe, especially when things are tight, you are making a choice to trust God to meet your needs by showing him you’re going to choose to give back to him even before that stack of bills is paid. If you sponsor a child in Haiti, you will begin to care more deeply about the plight of children there and around the world. If your money is in going to your house and your car, then you are going to care quite a lot about those things. What do I want to care about? Then that’s where my money needs to go.
