Where is your treasure?

Matthew 6:19-21

Treasures in Heaven

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

These verses can be very troubling to the average American. We have treasures that the world has never seen. We have more stuff than we know what to do with. We spend all of our time acquiring and maintaining all that we get. We are too often consumed by the notion that we are doing a noble thing when we work hard for these treasures. Having stuff is a problem in many parts of the world but in America it is dangerously close to our heart. It's what drives us and at our end you know the old saying, it doesn't go with us anyway. It's easy to see the problem but very difficult to overcome.

I did not finish college. I really didn't know what I was going to do with my life. I loved music but after getting married music just didn't seem like the way to go. I learned the insurance business in 1972 and became very successful. I recognized the entrepreneurial spirit that was in my heart. I loved challenges. I felt like an underdog because I didn't have a college degree. I aways felt a bit inferior to those that did go on to get their degree. I had a love-hate relationship with the insurance business for 25 years but I became very successful once I totally committed my time and energy. I helped finance my kids college education and helped pay for three weddings. I purchased a new home in 2000 and so I have lived the American dream.

All those achievements are nice but I still have my doubts. I always wanted to be a quote, "full time minister." I did that at the end. I served as a men's pastor for two years. That experience was quite revealing. I don't think that I treasured any of my accomplishments more than my encounter with Jesus but life in America has a way of stealing your heart. It keeps you so pre-occupied to the point that you are unaware of what you are really missing as you live life's journey.

The last part of verse 21 in Matthew 6 reveals where your heart is at the moment. I love and hate this verse because there is no getting around what it is saying. It is the naked truth and everyone can see it. What we treasure is where our heart spends it's time. It is a reality check in the worst way. It tells us everything that we need to know about ourselves. I used to think that the game of golf did that. When you see folks play golf you can see their disposition and how the game affects them. You will see all kinds of emotional things happen to golfers as they try to play the game and sometimes it isn't pretty to watch.

I'm trying to find out where my heart is right now. I ask for your prayers. I pray that the Lord will help you as well because He more than anyone else understands our plight living in America. He is not there to condemn us. He is there to help us through but we must first give Him all of our heart and by so doing we will find the real prize.