Toongabbie Anglican Church Blog

Weekly Blurb

Where is your treasure?

Sunday 20 June, 2004 · Posted by Philip Bassett

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said �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.�

It is all too easy for us to put things other than God first in our lives, to be concerned for the treasures of this world rather than treasures in heaven. The treasures of this world are so attractive and not wrong in themselves, they can even be real blessings to us from God. The trouble comes when they take over our priorities.

Money is a good example. It�s great to have lots of it. it�s pretty terrible to have none. But we can become obsessed with money regardless of how little or how much we have. The Apostle Paul told Timothy, �People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs�. It is so easy to let the pursuit of money, and of course the things that it buys, swamp our commitment to the Lord.

Another example is family. We are taught in the bible to value our families and those of us with children naturally want the best for them. But all too often we allow what is good to crowd out what is best. Sport, leisure, family times, all good in themselves, crowd out meeting with God�s people at church on Sunday.

Our children grow up to reflect our values. Unless we work at showing that treasures in heaven are better than treasures on earth by the things that we value, by the priorities on the use of our time, our children will grow up laying up all their treasures here on earth instead of in heaven.

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