Matthew 6: 19-21
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up your treasures in heaven, where neither moth not rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.
The Greek definition of the word treasure is:
(2344 thēsaurós /títhēmi, "to put, set") – properly, stored-up treasure (riches); (figuratively) a storehouse of treasure, including (treasured) thoughts stored up in the heart and mind.
Webster’s defines treasure as:
1 a (1) : wealth (such as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up or hoarded buried treasure
(2) : wealth of any kind or in any form
b : a store of money in reserve
2 : something of great worth or value; also: a person esteemed as rare or precious
3 : a collection of precious things
During a recent quiet time, the author of the bible study I had before me asked me to do the following: “Please fill in this blank: I value, treasure, love, cherish ________________.”
Filling in this statement is a great barometer of where our hearts lie.
For me my treasure is my family. I have struggled desperately to keep my family before God and not let them take His place in my heart over the years. My family is where my treasure lies on this side of heaven and I constantly need to remind myself of their place in my heart.
My daughter, two daughters-in-law and two sweet friends are going through bible verses and sharing our thoughts on those verses with each other every day.
When we came to the verse quoted above, I said the following to my daughter and daughters-in-law: “There are so many things that vie for my heart: dad, all of you and my grandbabies being at the top of that list. As much as you all have a hold on my heart, I desperately need and absolutely want for God to be my ultimate treasure.”
This begs the question, is what we treasure a sin? Is it a sin to love our homes, material things, our family, our memories or any of the other things defined above?
In Psalm 73, we see that Asaph is struggling because he was “envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked…” v 3
Asaph had taken his eyes off of the Lord and put them on things that lead to death. This Psalm gives us a glimpse into Asaph’s heart and how he processed feeling discontent in his faithful walk with the Lord when the wicked were prospering. V 13
As the Psalm continues, he see’s that their ways are wicked and he begins to understand that their path is the way of destruction, separation from God forever. vs 16 - 20
Psalm 73:26 finds Asaph crying out to the Lord, “My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” ~ does that stir your heart like it does mine? Oh, how I love this verse!
Treasuring our families, enjoying our homes, fondly remembering the past, whatever it is that you treasure becomes sin when you place it above God or it goes against what God has said in His word.
For those who seek contentment in Him, we need to continually wrestle with keeping anything out of the place of God in our lives, and remember that God is our strength and our portion forever, THAT is where our rest comes.
Satan is a thief; he will use anything in our lives to draw us away from being content and bringing glory to Jesus. Even the good things….. often times ESPECIALLY the good things: the people closest to us, our ministries, our homes ~ all of these are blessings straight from the heart of our Lord, but given even a tiny bit of space, satan will twist, turn and churn those things until we are consumed and holding on so tight that it creates fear, worry, discontentment, jealousy, unease, hoarding (part of one of the definitions above).
Jesus calls us to simplicity. He calls us to rest. He offers life, goodness, sweetness. Psalm 33:5
I pray as you walk through your day that you will hold up to God, open palms raised high to Him, anything that satan may have twisted in your life, anything that he is trying to destroy and steal from you.
I pray that you will find peace, rest, contentment, and sweetness. We can find this when we say: “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8