Where is your treasure?

"Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also." Luke 12:33-34 NASB)

These verses are a continuation of the lily passage. It seems at first glance that Jesus has changed subjects here, but on closer examination, this is a continuation of the previous teaching. The topic began when someone in the crowd asked Jesus to intervene in a matter of inheritance. Jesus responded with a warning against greed. "Not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." (Luke 12:15 NASB)

My life is not about my stuff.

Don't worry about your things, Jesus told His disciples. Don't worry about food or drink or clothes. Seek God and He will handle everything else. 

We come now to the question of possessions. Matthew Henry interprets this passage as an admonition to "sit loose to this world." Jesus recommended that we get rid of our excess of possessions and give the money to those who have little. Instead of focusing on owning things, our focus should be on treasure that lasts for eternity. 

If my life is not about my stuff, why do I spend so much time and care on my things? We all have 24 hours in a day, 365 days in a year. Over the course of my life, I will spend considerable time caring for my things. Silver has to be polished. Clothes need to be washed, dried, ironed, stored. Tools and toys need consistent maintenance, as do vehicles. There's always something that need attention.

The care of stuff can take over my life, but I don't want my life to be about my possessions. I want to live a life filled with God and His ways, His people, not things. When stuff rules, that which matters most can easily get left out. There's a choice that must be made. 

In a culture of affluence, we see relative wealth everywhere we look. It is not so in most of the world. The things we so desperately "need" are not as essential as we think. If we want our life to be filled with God, it cannot also be filled with things. 

How much of my day is spent on things? How much on God? How much on the people in my life? That division of time will tell much about my priorities.

Jesus calls us to take a careful look at our possessions. Do we have more than we need? Are things taking up more time than is reasonable? Call a halt to the tyranny of stuff. Get rid of the excess. Use it to make a difference in the world around you. 

Our lives were never intended to be consumed by stuff. When we die, every one of the things we have so carefully treasured will be left behind. 

Today, let's take a careful look at our possessions. What do we need? What is excessive? What can we do without? Make a choice, then make a change.

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also... Where is your heart?

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Our Father, who lives and reigns forever in heaven, help me to take my eyes off this world and plant them on eternity. Help me to let go of my hold on things and cling to You, to store treasure in heaven. In Jesus' name Amen

Guarding Against Greed

Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." But He said to him, "Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?" Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." (Luke 12:13-15 NASB)

I have a notebook of verses that are my favorite and that have spoken to me at different times in my life. The last verse is one of those. "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" is my favorite translation of Luke 12:15. (Alas, I didn't note the translation but I think it's the TLB paraphrase) 

In this culture of affluence and entitlement, we can easily be swept into the current of covetousness. Don't be. Jesus gives not one warning against greed but two. Beware. Be on your guard against every form of greed. The repeated warning is a confirmation of His intent. Jesus is serious about our need to be intentional in avoiding greed.

The word translated as "beware" is horaō and can also be translated "to see". In this instance, the two admonitions indicate that we are to examine ourselves to prevent every form of greed. We are to be intentional about avoiding greed and the desire to accumulate things.

I look around me and am stunned by the amount of "stuff" I have accumulated over the years. There's a considerable number of items in my house that had no particular meaning for me at the time they were purchased. They serve no purpose other than decorative. I'm not sure now why I bought them, but they have become a symbol of the foolish ways I've used the money God has entrusted to me.

Therein is the problem. The money we have (much of which I have used to purchase "stuff") was entrusted to us by God. He had a purpose in giving it to us and an intended use for every cent of it. 

When I look at my income in that way, I'm shocked by how I've managed my money. If the widow who gave her mite, her last cent to God, is my example, I'm sadly lacking. Judging by the conspicuous consumption of those around me, I'm not the only one with this problem.

Despite all the possessions I've accumulated over the years, they are not my life. The people in my life are what matters. My son, my family, my friends, and (most importantly) my faith are what matters and by which I'd prefer to be defined. At the end of my life, I want people to remember the difference I made in this world, not the number of possessions I accumulated. I wonder if you can tell that from all the things I've accumulated over the years.

A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. 

It's a truth we would do well to understand. The greed that tells us otherwise must be avoided. Beware. Be on your guard. Examine your heart. Is greed there? A lifestyle of consumption? If we want to please God, our greed-filled lifestyles will have to change.

Why does our attitude about possessions matter? Jesus summed it up in Matthew 6:21.

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

As we "beware", examining ourselves for the possibility of greed, let's evaluate that which we most treasure. Is it the things of this world or the next? Where is your treasure? 

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Dear God, forgive me for the ways I have used Your resources and the money You have entrusted to me. Cleanse me of greed and covetousness. Create in me a clean, generous, giving heart. Help me to store my treasure in heaven rather than trust in the things of this world. In Jesus name, Amen.