Where Your Treasure Lies
Some of my favorite books of the Bible are the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). As Christians, we are called to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27). When reading about how Jesus spoke, taught, and lived in his 33 years of life on Earth, it gives me guidance on how to attempt to mirror my own life.
Matthew 6 is a jackpot chapter filled with nuggets of information on fasting, praying, and giving. While those are all topics of needed discussion, the chapter also speaks on placing our treasure in Heaven. Interestingly enough, the end of this chapter talks about how we should not worry. In a chapter filled with words discussing giving and money, I would say God knew what he was doing putting the ‘Do Not Worry’ sub-section to finish off the chapter.
The past few months, I have been doing quite a bit of self-reflection and I continue to see a theme popping up - idols. A quick Google search will give you the definition of idol as “an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship; a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered.”
Like me, you might say to yourself, “Of course Jesus is my God; nothing is above Him.” For you that may be true and I applaud you for that. Unfortunately, for me, I have been pretty naive. Although I believe there is nothing greater than our God, I have allowed other desires, dreams, and essentially idols to go before God in my life without me even really seeing and acknowledging it.
Pastor Tim Keller says this, “An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, ‘If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.’” Well, my goodness! Hit me with a truth bomb, Pastor Keller!
God should be the only thing defining your value and significance.
See, the devil is sly and sneaky. God wants to give you good things. He loves that we have desires, but we can somehow twist these good things and give them more importance than we should, and not allow God to be the absolute desire of our heart. Maybe it is your future or current career, maybe family or your kids, possibly the desire for a future husband and children, or to have a beautiful home. It could be a desire to travel the world, an approving opinion of others, or to eat healthy and get fit. It can even be a ministry. Even with the best of intentions, any passion or idea can grow and become bigger than God.
Having a nice home, nice clothes, and nice vehicle are not sinful, but materialism can get to you. My pastor recently used the phrase “the magnetism of materialism.” Man, does that hit home. How simple is Amazon Prime? It’s literally three clicks and you have something on your doorstep in two days. That’s insane! Unfortunately, I fall victim to Amazon Prime more than I would like to admit, but it’s the magnetism of it, the easiness of buying whatever we want, whenever we want.
Listen, I am not saying money, dreams, careers, family, goals, or anything of that nature are bad. However, when we make it greater than God in our lives, then we get ourselves in a hot mess. We need to repent and ask God to forgive us. The first two commandments (Exodus 20:3-6) state, “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make an image (idol) and bow down to them or worship them.”
The verse I keep repeating to myself is Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure lies, there your heart will be also.” I will have to answer to God for all the treasure I have tried to store up on this Earth, and so will you. I want my treasure to lie in Heaven. I want to be Heaven-focused. I do not want to explain to God, “Well, here’s the thing, I had all my followers on Insta and I had to stay relevant.” or “I just knew if I could get that job, then I would be set and not worry anymore.” or “So-and-so lost all that weight, so I had to eat, sleep, and breathe diet and exercise so I could look that good too!”
I pray I can be like Paul. In Acts 17:16, the Bible says while Paul was in Athens, “he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.” I want to examine my own heart, and like Paul, be greatly distressed when I see even a glimpse of an idol there. I want my heart to be full to the brim with Jesus.
So, where does your treasure lie? Have an honest conversation with God and ask this question to yourself, because wherever your treasure is, your heart will be there too.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Whitney can be described by the opening lyrics of a few Tom Petty songs. She's a good girl who grew up in a small Indiana town who loves her mama, Jesus, and America too. She practices medicine as a physician assistant at an urgent care. Whitney is a music enthusiast and leads worship at her church. She has a heart for people, and wants to help young girls and women find their worth in Christ rather than what the world says of them. Whitney loves a good dad joke, the outdoors, spending time with family and friends, Southern manners, working on her fitness, attempting Pinterest crafts, and cheering on Indiana University basketball.