Store Up Treasures in Heaven

Imagine that you are cleaning out your grandparent’s attic and you come across a map.  There is an “X” marked on the map.  You notice that there is a note on the map that says “Gold is buried here.”  As you take a closer look at the map, you see that the markings and landmarks on the map look familiar.  It is a map of your grandparent’s property.

​You start digging and as you dig, your shovel strikes something hard.  You dig further and faster.  Something begins to take shape.  It’s a box.  You reach down to grab the treasure.  You are excited about what you are going to find.  You open the box and find bones.  You then begin to think back to your childhood spending summers with your grandparents and it hits you: Your grandparents had a dog named Gold.  You have just found where Gold was buried.  All of that work was for nothing.  You tore up the yard, messed up the grass, dirtied up your clothes, put strain on your back and ache in your muscles only to dig up some dog bones.

Many of us are hunting for treasure and digging for the wrong kind of gold.  We are pursuing the American dream at the expense of our divine destiny.

In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus teaches how His followers should view material possessions.  Jesus challenges us to hunt for the right type of treasure.  True treasure is found when we value most what is most valuable. 

Jesus says, don’t store up treasures on earth.  He is teaching His followers not to love things so much that we accumulate and hoard them.  Beware of focusing on the accumulation of stuff.  Insects and the elements destroy them.  People steal them.  Usage breaks them. Jesus is teaching against materialism and the accumulation of massive amounts of treasure as your life goal.

What is your life goal?  Everything from our relationships to our financial decisions will be determined by our ultimate goal.  Remember that we are blessed to be a blessing.  Holding, hoarding, and hiding earthly riches blesses no one.   We cannot expect any material goods on earth to “buy us” anything in heaven.  They have no purchasing power in eternity’s economy.

Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven.  Where your treasure is there your heart will be also.  You live life differently when your treasure is stored up in heaven. You measure your life by the true riches of the kingdom of God and not by the false riches of this world. We should use earthly resources for heavenly purposes.  The location of your treasures will determine the inclination of your heart.    So value most what is most valuable.