Matthew 6: 19-34
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal….You cannot serve both God and money.
Through living overseas, I have come to recognize how much I hold on to my financial stability. I have always been one to save money and not spend it unless it is something that I really long for. Even when we were little I would end up having a large amount of my allowance left at the end of the week. While I was teaching in Texas I had a reasonable cushion under me to help support all the things I wanted to do.
Living here, I am paid in cash and do not have a bank account. I have some money in America, but there isn't a steady stream being put into that account. I have watched it slowly deplete over the last six months. In my mind it's time for panic! What about my future? What will I do when I move back to America? How will I live with out money?
God answers this question rather simply. My treasure is not here. Everything I could possibly need money for is temporary. It will be destroyed with the earth. I can't take anything with me when I go, so why bother worrying about it here?
Well….you might say, Shelly you need money to eat and be clothed. Don't worry, He's already got that covered. Don't worry about what you will eat or wear. Look at my last blog.
Storing up treasures in heaven is SO much more rewarding than anything you could buy here. Does this mean that all budgeting goes out the window or that God doesn't want us to be good stewards of the money He does allow us to have? By no means!! He extols the servant who gives his master double what he was given when he returns.
But He also tells us to sell everything we own, give it to the poor and follow Him. I am learning to be content with where I am. I may live pay check to pay check, but I have no doubt that this is exactly where He wants me to be. Coming from a consumerist society this is a foreign idea to a lot of people. You can't sustain life living from pay check to pay check. Well how about this…Jesus wasn't even paid! Neither were the apostles who spread the gospel. Their life revolved around those treasures they were accumulating in heaven.
Their lives were about investing in the people around them. Their wealth didn't come from a note, it came from knowing that lives were being changed. People were being impacted and God was being made known.
Where is your treasure? Find your treasure and you will find your passion and true loyalty.
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