Where Is Your Treasure?

Matthew 6:19-21
{Note: this devotion was given at the shop in early January 2010, more than a year before the devastating Tuscaloosa Tornado of April 2011}
 
When you think about the word “treasure” one of the first things that comes to mind a lot of times is a treasure chest.  The ones like you see on television – pirates go out and find the treasure chest that has gold in it, silver, jewelry – all types of expensive things.  I think about the movie that Nicholas Cage was in called National Treasure – they found this huge basement with nothing but gold and all kinds of things.
 
Here in this scripture Jesus is speaking and He says in that 19th verse: Lay not up for yourselves treasures……
 
Jesus is telling them not to lay up treasures on this earth.  But there are so many people that are doing just that.  There are people right now that put all their trust in the hands of people.  People have lost millions of dollars putting their trust in people like Bernie Madoff and others.  People have lost their treasure trusting in men and money, trusting in the things of this world.
 
In one instance Jesus said what doth it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?  So we have to be careful where we lay our treasures.   He goes on and in the 20th verse He uses the phrase “where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal”. 
 
We know what moths will do, moths eat holes in fabric.  We know what rust does, it destroys.   I don’t care what it is - leave it out there in the weather long enough and it’ll start rusting.   It will rust away.
 
You can take a silver spoon and lay it up in a cabinet or in a drawer, after a length of time it’s going to be tarnished.
 
Thieves may steal things, and moths and rust will do just as worse as thieves because eventually these treasures may be eaten or corroded away.
 
Instead of placing trust in earthly treasures Jesus tells us in the 20th verse “…lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven”.  He is letting us know that our soul is a precious treasure, and we must take care not to lose our soul.
 
If we want to be effective in this life we should not focus just on putting money in AmSouth, the credit union, or Southtrust.   We need to put up things that will not rust and things that will not deteriorate.  We must trust Jesus Christ for the saving of our soul, and become rich in love for our fellow man.  When we begin to help our fellow brothers or our fellow sisters - these are the things that thieves cannot break through and steal.
 
Jesus has promised that we have a treasure/a mansion that he prepared for us.  He said “I go to prepare a place for you” and “in my Father’s house are many mansions”.  Jesus is saying the place I’m going to prepare for you - you won’t have to worry about termites.  You won’t have to worry about water damage.  You ain’t got to worry about hurricanes.  You ain’t got to worry about any of these natural disasters, like what happened in Haiti.
 
Let us keep Haiti in our prayers and keep Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross in our prayers because we know that it effects all of us spiritually.  Look, I’m a 200+pound man but I tear up when I see what’s going on there and I know for a fact it could be right here.   Two or three F5 tornadoes can flatten this city and we could easily be in that same shape right here.
 
Where is your treasure?
 
In the 21st verse it says, “…for where your treasure is there your heart will be also…”
 
If we put our treasures in heaven our hearts are going to be in heaven.  But if we put it in one of these credit unions or banks it will fail.  This system that we all operate in with the debit cards, credit cards, and financial things could fail at any time.
 
I remember one time years ago, I went to get some money out of the credit union and they said I couldn’t because the computers were down.  Now, if I want to go to God for something I don’t have to worry about Him being “down”.  There will never be a time that I can’t get my prayer through-  I can always get an answer.  God is never “down”.
 
Let us put our treasures in the right place; let’s keep focus in the right place.  Let us continue to keep Haiti and the relief agencies doing their part in that part of the world in our prayers.  And if we can do something to help, let’s do it. If you can donate, great.  Like I said, it could be us. We’re not exempt from natural disasters.  We might not be in an earthquake prone area or a tropical area but as I said earlier a couple of F5 tornadoes could flatten this city and we’d be looking for someone to help us.
 
In God we trust? Yes, we can trust God – He is a safe place to put your treasure.
~J. T.