Where Is Your Treasure?نموونە

Where is your treasure?

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Addison Leach was a college professor. He knew two young women who became followers of Jesus. They went to their parents and said, “We’ve become Christians, and we want to be missionaries.” Each of their parents said, “Now dear, you had a religious experience. How wonderful. But you need some security. Before you go off to have a missionary experience, which is fine, we want you to have a master’s degree. We want you to have taken a job or two, so you’ve gotten your career off the ground. And we want you to have some money in the bank.”

The women went to Dr. Leach and said, “What do we say about that?” He replied, “Here’s what I would say to your parents. Tell them we’re on a little ball of rock spinning through space. It’s called Earth, and who knows if we’re going to run into something. But even if we don’t, someday, under each one of us is going to open a trap door, and everybody’s going to fall off. At the end of your life, a trap door will open up underneath you, and you will fall off the little ball of rock. And underneath will be the everlasting arms or nothing at all. Do you think a master’s degree is going to give you some security?”

This story raises the issue: Is our security in money or is it in God? Money is powerful. It reveals our heart. Jesus does not say where your heart is, there is your treasure. He does not say your money follows your heart. Rather, he startles us with the opposite truth: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Money is powerful. If you invest it in God and His kingdom, it will pull your heart along with it. You will love God more. However, if you put all your money into accumulating and hoarding, then your money will pull your heart away from God. You will love God less.

Maybe you thought that the gateway to a spiritual life was prayer or Bible reading, serving or community. All of these are absolutely vital, but the gateway to the spiritual life is your money. There’s something about money; it’s tied to your heart in some profound way. It shows where your heart is, who you really are, and where your trust really is.