The Heart’s Treasure

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”  Matthew 6:21

Americans are notorious for collecting stuff.  Sometimes our homes, attics, garages, and/or basements get so full of junk, we don’t even know what we possess.  When we can’t find that tool or gadget we are looking for, we go buy another one, adding to our ever expanding pile of stuff.  God wants us to have an abundant life, but He also wants us to use the resources with which He has blessed us to bless others and to promote His kingdom with our tithes and offerings.  However, money is only one aspect of our treasures.  Just as important are our treasures of obedience, faith, and love.  Our time is another big priority with the Lord.  There’s one thing about time:  you can’t store it up.  You either use it or lose it.  We all have the exact same amount of time as long as we are living: 24 hours a day, no more, no less.

Whatever you “send on ahead”, as some like to phrase it, cannot be destroyed by insects, weather, or man.  You don’t need an insurance policy to protect your heavenly treasures for they are guarded by the King Himself.  Our hearts follow our treasures.  According to scripture, the heart is the innermost part of man from which all thoughts and deeds emanate.  To “stand stedfast in the heart” (I Corinthians 7:37) means to be strongly determined.  To do something “from the heart” (Romans 6:17) means to do willingly and on purpose.  All emotions come from the heart:  joy and sorrow (Isaiah 65:14), anxiety (Proverbs 12:25), and fear (Psalm 143:4) to name a few.  Our morals originate in our hearts.  Everything that we are is not only culminated in the heart, but cultivated there as well whether for good or evil.

I have often heard that one of the most used excuses for not attending church is that “all they talk about is money”.  That’s not really true, at least not in the churches that I have attended.  Yes, money is desired because a church which is in the business of preaching the gospel and ministering to the surrounding community and beyond needs funds just like any secular endeavor.  It also takes money to keep missionaries on the field and to help various Christian ministries to serve people in the name of Christ.  When we give so that others may hear the gospel, those who receive the word are also part of our treasures that we have laid up for eternity.  What we give according to our means is a measure of our faith.  I remember one of the men in the church in which I grew up had a saying:  “God can make 90% go further than I can make 100% go by myself.”

Don’t seek worldly treasure, That is, money, fortune, and fame; If you want to be rich and famous, Seek the treasure found in Jesus’ name.

If you put your trust in Him, You will never suffer need; Your heavenly bank account will grow, Your future will be secure indeed.