“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth not rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21. For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”
While I was riding my exercise bike this morning I thought of these verses of scripture, and I really began to question myself about where my true treasures are? We need to think about this and recommit ourselves to putting possessions into proper perspective. I thought of some things that I hold dear in this life. Of course, the first thing that I thought of was my family. They are not a possession, but they sure are dear. Then I got really silly and thought of some things that I deem important that in the total scheme of things would not be at all important. I thought of my tape cassette player. O.K. they are out of date, but I still have multiple cassettes and I need something to play them on.(Have you seen one at Walmart lately?) I thought of the watch that was given to me by Liberty Hill Baptist Church in 2001. I still wear it today, and I sure would hate to lose it. I thought of the pictures that I have of the Westwood football team. I am their chaplain and those boys and coaches are important to me. I also have a watch that they gave me that is important to me and on display in my den. Then there is the state championship ring from 2012 that the Wildcats gave me, which is also on display in my den. There are many other things, but I will stop there. All of the things mentioned above are important to me, but they are not eternal. Our house could burn down and I could lose all of those “things.”( I will, however, exempt my family from being "things.") The point is that the deepest part of my heart is to be devoted to God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus told us that “moth and rust” could corrupt the things that we possess on this earth. This means, as I wrote above that there is nothing that we have on this earth that will not one day pass away. I think back over the years to possessions that I held dear that have long since passed from the scene and not a hair of my head was harmed because of it. I think that I have used this illustration before on CouchPotatoRedux, but it bears using again here. There was a preacher whose basement flooded. All of the paraphernalia from over fifty years in the ministry was stored there and all of it was ruined. He said that he sat on the steps of his basement and cried. Then the thought came to him: “But those are just ‘things’ and that is not what has been of most importance in my years in the ministry.” Even all of his sermons were not eternal, except as they made a difference in people’s lives. We don’t need to stake our lives on that which “moth and rust” can corrupt. It is the last statement in this passage that made me really stop and think: “For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.” I asked myself: “O.K. Joe, where is your heart?” Is it in the things that you own or is it in the treasures of heaven? The most important thing that I have in my life is a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Frankly, if I didn’t have that, then nothing else would seem to be important. I hope that you can say that Jesus is the most important possession (if that’s the right word) that you have. Family and friends are of utmost importance. Which of them would I trade for my tape cassette player? (You are supposed to laugh.) When all is said and done, the things that we possess should not possess us. If we are to be possessed, we should be possessed by God for only He can take care of things now and for all eternity. I hope that these thoughts have made you stop and think about your possessions, for they certainly made me stop and think. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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