What Did Jesus Say About Treasures?

When thinking of treasure, a picture of men digging in a field searching for something very special may come to mind. A treasure like gold can’t be found just anywhere. There are actually people who go "gold-minding" to find such treasures.

Other people might think of clothing as their treasures. Some love shoes; They have an entire collection of them. Others like jewelry and hats.

On the same note, a family may be seen as priceless. Having a house without a family for a mother might seem worthless. Her children and spouse might be her treasure. Success is it for some people.

Large churches and great ministries can also be a treasure in the eyes of some. The common thread throughout all of these 'treasures' is that they are on earth? 

Somethings, like ministry and church bodies are godly, but they are still on the earth, and we know that everything on the earth can and will one day be taken away.

We aren’t sinful for finding pleasure in them. These earthly things aren’t bad. But, Christians are not called to store up earthly things as our most precious treasures.

Instead, we are to store up for ourselves Heavenly treasures. Now, that sounds kind of odd at first thought, doesn't it? Like, How would a person even do that. We will get to that point a little later.

But, Jesus told us a couple of reasons why we shouldn’t store treasures on earth, but in Heaven.

JESUS' REASONS NOT TO DO IT!

For one, He said moth and rust can destroy it (Matthew 6:19). Sister, the things that we love and cherish on earth can be destroyed. Homes, church buildings, families, ministries, jobs, success, books, clothing, jewelry etc.

All of those things can fall apart or be completely destroyed... and we have all seen it happen. How sad would it be to have put all of your hope in them and to have expected all of your joy to come from something that can be so easily removed?

Secondly, It can be stolen. Worse than our treasures being destroyed, they can actually be stolen in many ways. This shows that earthly treasures are not secure. They are fickle. They can be here today and gone tomorrow. 

When worldly things become the treasure, the stress about keeping them comes along. Anxiety about how to make sure it doesn’t 'rust' exist. We have to make sure there are plans in case someone does try to steal them.

WORDLY TREASURES CAN BE A PAIN!

Worldly treasures bring problems. Who will inherit these treasures? You don’t want it to be someone who doesn't understand how precious those shoes are! I am only making fun of shoes because I know so many people who truly love them and so I feel like I have the liberty to.

For me, it’s my books. If I would ever have earthly treasures, it would be my books, call me what you want... I will be your nerd. My books are precious to me, and I have to make sure I love the God of all Wisdom more than the wisdom my books can potentially give.

Worldly treasures cost money. They aren’t called treasures for anything. You have to worry about getting the money to buy these treasures because, if our happiness is found in earthly things, the odds are, we want more and more and more. So, then we end up with foolish spending.

Worldly treasures become stressful if we look for it to give us what only God can.

THE REAL ISSUE IS THE HEART!

Now, the problem is not the stuff. The real issue is our hearts- Our attitudes towards things. A shoe (I know, let me just choose this item, okay!) is not an idol in an of itself. A person makes it an idol by loving it more than God. 

It not about the amount of money in the bank account, but the attitude of the heart towards what is in the bank.

Jesus actually mentioned the heart when He talked about these two types of treasures. He uses it as a compass. Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21)." 

We have to be honest with ourselves and ask the question. “Is my treasure in the World or in Heaven?" That will tell us where our hearts are. It is easy to say, "My heart loves God." However, we don’t ask the heart questions like that. We look at our actions, the overflow of the heart, to find the answer.

WE TAKE NOTHING WHEN WE DIE!

Jesus is not saying we earn our salvation. We are saved by faith in Jesus alone (Ephesians 2:8). Salvation is a gift, not something we are rewarded for. This matter is one of worship. We are to question and examine if there are idols in our hearts.

The truth is, we came into the world with nothing. Job said, “naked we shall return.” We can’t take all of our earthly treasures with us. There is a saying that “we can’t put it all in the casket.” It true. And, who would want to? There is nothing more precious than Jesus, who is already in Heaven. 

However, Jesus did tell us to do this 'storing up treasures in Heaven thing.' For the treasures to be in Heaven, they must be sent up in advance of our coming. As stated before, this is an issue of heart worship. The Bible said that living a sacrificial life is an offering of worship to Him (Romans 12:1).

When we choose to serve God, forgetting self and aligning ourselves with His mission, the Kingdom of Heaven, we are storing up treasures in Heaven. We are all different members of Christ’s Body. But we all are under the same Head (Jesus) with the same purpose.

We may have different ministries and our day to day lives may look different. But, our Lord is the same. Our obedience to Him and submission to the Spirit is our storing up Heavenly treasures.

REPENTANCE AND QUESTIONS!

We have a wonderful example in Scripture. (Mark 10)

There was a young rich man in the Bible. He came to Jesus, asking about eternal life. He told Jesus that he had kept all of the commandments since childhood, and was asking what he was to do. Jesus told Him to give away all of his riches.

Jesus said that if he would do that, He would have treasure in heaven. We see that this man thought he had kept the commandments, but He had broken the very first one. He loved his money more than God.

The man left Jesus sad because he was very rich, in the worldly sense. But, really, he was so so poor. The man treasured his riches, the stuff that could have been stolen or destroyed.

He did not treasure Christ, the best treasure. He had let the greed of his heart steal from him the opportunity of having Heavenly treasure.

WE GET TO MAKE THE SAME CHOICE!

You get to choose. Is it worth it to you, sister? In order to make Jesus our treasure, we have to repent, just like what Jesus was asking of that “rich man.” To essentially throw aside all of the earthly treasures we are loving more than Jesus. To turn and follow Jesus instead.

Then, we will reap Heavenly treasures. We will be truly rich in Christ!

God may not be asking you to give away everything you have like He did the rich man.

A MATTER OF THE HEART!

He may only be asking you to take away those precious treasures off the throne of your heart. It is only hard when we forget that God is so much better!!

I don’t want to miss this one. I want to be more Heavenly minded. I want to treasure up riches in heaven every day because Jesus told me to! Sister, it's through truly finding Christ to be more valuable than anything we could ever give up. By submitting, obeying and loving. 

Join me in asking God to help us do this because we can’t do it on our own. Though, with Him, all things are possible...and what a beautiful thing this is!

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!