What is your Treasure?
““Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face; so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.” (Matthew 6:16-24 WEB)
Earthly rewards versus heavenly rewards. This is what Jesus was comparing in the passage above.
Do you seek to be praised by men and to heap up material riches? Notice how these two types of earthly rewards are very temporal and unstable—they can be here today and gone tomorrow.
One day, the people of Israel were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David”, and soon after, they were shouting, “Crucify Him!” The praises of men are just vain and unreliable.
Money can be easily stolen, lost, and destroyed through improper storage and foolish handling.
The idea of “lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth” means to actively acquire earthly things to treat as the most important and precious things to you.
Jesus is not saying that you will not have praises from men or material riches if you follow Him. In fact, the Bible says that God’s blessing makes one rich and prosperous (in all ways) and it will not cause sorrow or trouble.
“Don’t trust in oppression. Don’t become vain in robbery. If riches increase, don’t set your heart on them. God has spoken once; twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God.” (Psalms 62:10-11 WEB)
Even when praises and riches increase, you don’t have to set your heart on them. Treat them as normal resources that have a necessary purpose, such as things like cooking oil and toothpaste. Give all glory to Jesus for these provisions, but let God be your treasure. You can only set your heart on one thing at a time: either God or money.
Whatever you deem as your treasure, that is where your heart will be fixated on. When you overextend yourself into the world and make earthly things your treasure, it is going to occupy your mind and heart most of the time, and will make you fearful, worried, stressed, and produce all sorts of negative emotions.
This is what Jesus means by “the eye is the lamp of the body”. What you keep looking at and focusing on will affect your entire being.
For example, when you keep focusing on gaining wealth without feeding on God’s word and spending time with Him in prayer, your body will be filled with darkness.
You will make decisions mostly based on what is financially profitable to you, rather than based on what the Holy Spirit leads you to do. We know that being driven by the impulses and cravings of the flesh leads to death, whereas being led by the Spirit leads to life.
Jesus is the only one you can look at all the time and by doing so, flood your body with life-giving light. Focus on Jesus, and He will lead you to experience good things, at the right place, at the right time!
Read all about the heavenly rewards from God, how you can maximize them, and how to identify and walk in your God-given calling to enjoy a worthy life: http://bit.ly/sandcastlesdontlastforever
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