Where Do You Keep Your Treasure?

 April 11, 2024

Thursday

We spend a great deal on keep our possessions safe. It seems that half the ads on TV warn us about identity theft or thieves breaking into our houses or being exploited by some scam. Each warning often comes with a product to thwart these evil people who will take away all that we have earned.

Some of the thieves use our greed against us. They promise us millions from an Nigerian prince who simply has chosen us to receive his inheritance. We are told that we have won millions of dollars from a lottery we don't remember entering. We are told that the IRS is sending the sheriff to arrest us in the next twenty minutes. We are told that our computer has been compromised from those who claim to be at the Microsoft Center. If we don't act soon, we will not receive the money or we will go to jail or our computers will be locked down without a means of recovery.

Let's be very honest. There is nothing we can do to protect everything we have on this earth. Thieves are often ahead of every deterrent we can place before them. We can know that the "too good to be true" are just that. We can take reasonable cautions, put security systems in our houses and subscribe to companies who monitor our finances but we can't be absolutely safe no matter what we do. If someone wants what we have bad enough, they can take it.

Of course, our fears of losing it all are coupled with our treasure. What if the things of this earth weren't our treasures? What if we truly treasured our relationship with the Lord so dearly that these things paled in comparison?

When our treasure is on the earth, we will do whatever it takes to keep it safe. When our treasure is in heaven, the Holy Spirit guards it. It is truly safe. When treasure is on earth, we live in anxiety. When our true treasure is in heaven, we have peace. When our treasure is on earth, we give as little as possible. When our treasure is in heaven, we are generous.

Today, why not make sure your treasure is in heaven. That way you can sleep calmly because no one can take it away. It will not be like a new car that gets old. It will not be like your own body that breaks down. It will not be like your reputation which can be taken by one liar. It will be safe from corruption and thieves.

One of Satan's great deceptions is keeping Christians focused on this world. Let's make sure our treasure is in a place that he can't go to steal it.

Matthew 6:19–21 (NASB 2020) ¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹ for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.