Keep a Loose Grip

Scripture:    Matthew 6:19-21 -  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where  moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Earthly/material things/treasures should be held/prized loosely compared to eternal things.  Christ should be our most important and/or sought after treasure!  Have you ever coveted or desired material things more so than spiritual things?  

Have you ever put clothes/garments in a closet and look at them several years later – only to notice moth holes in the garments?  Or have you noticed that your treasured vehicle or other items after years of use get rusty?  Or have you ever had your possessions stolen from you?  In ancient times before there were banks, individuals would sometimes dig holes in the ground to place their treasured items.  These valuables would obviously rust/tarnish; therefore, they would no longer be of value.  Individuals also used to horde grain, and mice/rats would consume their harvest.  In Jesus’ day, they didn’t have security as we do today.  In the East, houses were often made of baked clay.  Thieves used to dig through the clay walls to get whatever the wanted.  Our possessions today can be temporary as they were in Jesus’ day.  Fire can destroy our homes, and a decline in the stock market can wipe out our 401K’s.  

Jesus is not condemning wealth.  Wealth in and of itself is not wrong.  I Timothy 6:10a – “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which some coveted after….”  We are to provide for our families.  I Timothy 5:8 – “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”  God has given us all things richly to enjoy (I Timothy 6:17).  Jesus doesn’t want us to be over occupied in longing after earthly things. We have to remember that earthly things are temporal.  

Jesus says that we should lay treasures in Heaven.  After all, heavenly treasures endure.  I Peter 1:4 – “…to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you.”  II Corinthians 4:18 – While you look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”  

Things we most highly treasure/value will occupy our heart or will be what we think about and spend time with the most.  The things of Heaven, not the things of this earth, need to occupy our hearts the most.    These are the things we should value the most.

Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father:  Thank You for all that You have given us.  Help us to treasure heavenly things more than earthly/material things.  Help us to share with others what You have given us.  I’m so grateful that my relationship with You will last forever.  I want to be focused on You.  All this I pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

(by Marsha Williams)