Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heave, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
If you grew up in the church like me, you likely have these verses memorized. As I re-read them this week, I stopped to think about exactly what they meant, though. In context, I’ve always focused on what I shouldn’t do. Don’t be materialistic. Don’t love ‘earthly stuff’ because you never saw a hearse pulling a U-Haul. You just can’t take it with you.
But this time, I focused on the other part of the verse. What we should do. It says “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” I stopped and thought that through. What exactly is a “treasure in heaven?” To figure it out, I had to make some lists and compare them. I’d encourage you to take a minute and make your own list.
Here’s the start of mine…and this list could go on and on, depending on how specific I got.
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Treasures on Earth |
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My family |
My home & everything in it |
Friends |
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My character/reputation |
Electronic devices |
My clothes |
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Scrapbooks & pictures |
Safety |
Health |
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Insurance |
Coffee |
Diet Coke |
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My dishes (An un-named Banfill recently broke a large & irreplaceable bowl that was a gift from a friend. After it breaking, let’s just say I realized that I held it as a treasure.) |
My job (Yes, it’s a high stress job that wears me out, but I really do love it, and in some weird sense, I treasure it!) |
Food, including my favorite coffee every morning, diet coke, desserts, steak…you get the idea |
I think you get the idea. “Treasures on earth” are the precious commodities that we own and would never decide to sell in a garage sale. We can’t part with them. They are the things that really have no eternal value or spiritual significance. They are even things on our wish list (like seeing Michael Buble in concert or traveling to Austria to do the Sound of Music tour). They are tangible; they are temporary; and according to Matthew, they are things that should not be stealing my affection.
In truth, some of the things on the above list may crossover into the next category, too, depending on me and my attitude about them.
Then I made a list of some “Treasures in Heaven” …if you’re like me, I think you’ll find this one is a bit more abstract, and it’s definitely not as easy.
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Treasures in Heaven |
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Obedience to my heavenly Father – obedience when I don’t want to obey |
Giving up my will for someone else to have their way, with a good attitude |
Deeper relationship with my Heavenly Father, including Bible reading and prayer. |
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My Character/Reputation |
Forgiveness, Godly Forgiveness |
Giving freely |
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Sharing the love of God with people; going on mission trips. |
Turning the other cheek when I’m hurt by another person. |
My children, in relation to their spiritual wellbeing. |
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Investing myself in friendships, even when they aren’t reciprocated. |
Leading people to Christ. |
Consistency in my Christian walk. |
Treasures in heaven are the spiritual things; the things that really matter. As I prayed over my list, God showed me the primary element was obedience. Every time I obey what God is asking me to do, treasures in heaven are stored, and literally everything on the list is a result of obedience. If you made your own list, take a look and see if that’s the same for you.
Another thing He showed me is that there is a distinct difference between “obedience” and “compliance.” When God asks me to do the tough things, the things I have no desire to do, that just might be when some extra treasures in heaven are stored. If He tells me to go on a mission trip, that’s a no brainer for me. It’s something I love and desire to do at least once every year. But let’s just say He tells me to go on a mission trip when I already have tickets to see Michael Buble in concert. Am I still compliantly going to go on the mission trip? Or am I obedient to go on the mission trip? Or do I decide I can’t go, because of the conflict? Good for me, I guess, God didn’t ask me to go on a mission trip when Michael Buble was in concert on August 3rd in Austin, and according to Frank, good for our checking account, because tickets were too much money. But the bottom line is that sometimes it’s easy to obey what God asks me to do because He often asks me to do things I already want to do.
Maybe you were a compliant child. If you were, you probably won't relate to what I'm about to say. Although I wasn't a terrible teenager, I definitely wasn't compliant. I had my share of arguments, insisting I was right, my parents were wrong, and no matter what, I would fight and insist for my way until I had laryngitis. I wasn't so disrepectful to say my thoughts outloud, but in my head, I would have an ongoing soliloquy of everything that was wrong with my parents because they wouldn't “listen” to me and do what I wanted. (Basically, I wanted them to conform themselves to my way!) In truth, as a teenager, I just wanted to be heard. If you're on the flip side, as a parent, you really do care. But it’s because you love your child so much that (at least in my home) most of the time, no matter how much yelling, my initial decision stays the same. The reality is that I love my kids too much to be one of those parents that caves to the pressures of parenting. I am not willing to give up, no matter how hard it is.
And isn’t that the same about our heavenly Father? He loves me so much that He keeps working on me. He keeps asking me to yield my way to His. Sometimes obedience is easy; sometimes it is not. He knows best, and easy or hard, my job as a child of His is not to reply to Him with a soliloquy of all the reasons He is wrong and my way is better. My job is to obey. Trust and obey.
So as I thought about this passage in relation to both being a teenager and parenting one, when I can see that my child wants to do one thing but understands my way is best, when my child willingly gives up his/her own desires to yield to my way, well, that’s when treasures are stored in my momma-meter. When my momma-meter starts to get full from the obedience being piled into it, then there are sure to be rewards for that exemplary behavior.
And spiritually speaking, I believe the Bible is pretty clear about God rewarding us for obedience, too. Some rewards are tangible, and some are spiritual, but throughout Scripture, it’s clear that God rewards obedience. Here’s just a few verses, but I found many, many more in my search…
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith, it is impossible to please God, for whoever draws near to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.”
Psalm 18: 19-24 “He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me. The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God. All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.”
Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown in His name in serving the saints…”
So now I come full circle with the deepest questions of this passage for me. These are questions I've been praying over all week as I've read and re-read, asking God to show me the answers and conform me to His image. Where are my rewards? What am I stockpiling? Am I surrendering my way to God’s way or am I practicing only compliant obedience? And finally, where is the object of my daily affection? Better yet, WHO is the object of my affection, moment by moment?
Although I didn't burst out in anger when I was informed of my broken bowl, if you could have seen the disappointment in my heart, you would know that God has some serious work to do on this cracked girl. Just like I won't give up on my children, I'm so thankful He doesn't give up on me, chips and all.
-- Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com