Treasures

Today in church, while the pastor was reading from Matthew 6:19-24, I stumbled upon some very familiar verses. 

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:20-21 (ESV)

I was particularly drawn to verse 21. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. That verse hit me like a ton of bricks. I began to ask myself the question, "Where are my treasures?" which eventually led to "Where is my heart?"

You see, I grew up in a privileged home. We always had everything we needed and then some. Christmas and birthdays were happy times because we could always look forward to an abundance of presents. Don't get me wrong, I'm not spoiled. I didn't always get what I wanted, but I was blessed... I still am very blessed. 

As a result of this, it's always been very easy for me to get caught up in material possessions. When I was younger, I would constantly be saving up money then immediately spending it. If there was something I wanted, I wanted it as soon as possible. I would do whatever it took to get that item. If I didn't get that thing, I would become very upset. Just ask my mom, I could be a handful. 

Now that I'm older and have become a little more independent financially, I realize that real happiness and satisfaction does not come from material possessions. Happiness comes from having a relationships with the Lord and with family and friends. 

If the most important things to us, our treasures, are material, we are in for a world of hurt. Our hearts are not in the right place, and we will go through life without knowing real joy and happiness. Don't get me wrong, there are people out there who are filthy rich who will tell you that they are "happy" but it's only superficial. At the end of the day, all they have is their money and possessions. 

I go to a college now that is made up of mostly middle-class students. Some are more well-off than others. I have seen people that can go for weeks without wearing the same outfit twice. All of us here have what we need, and then some. We always want more. I am definitely guilty of this. A lot of times I disguise my wants as needs. "I need new running shoes." "I need new boots." "I need a new car." The list goes on and on and on. 

But this summer, I had the privilege to travel to Peru on a missions trip and see a whole different world. I saw what real poverty looks like. I saw families that struggled just to put food on the table every night. Yet these same families would invite you into their home and share with you what little they had. I saw children playing in the mud wearing no pants or shoes. I saw children, ages 5-15, sit for hours listening to the Word of God because to them, God is so irresistible. I saw young men and women my age serving the Lord with a fiery passion - a passion that is so severely lacking in American churches today. I saw what true happiness looks like, and my friends, we don't have the slightest clue. Our treasures are not in the right place, and thus, our hearts are not in the right place.

You see, God is all that is important. Why does it matter what I wear? Or what I drive? Or who I'm friends with? Or how much money I have or make? Why do we put so much emphasis on those things? None of it matters. We can take none of it to Heaven (or hell) with us. It's material, yet immaterial. It's just like the verse says. These things will rot and collect dust and lose their value, but our relationship with the Most Holy God will never fade. When we pour our strength into serving Him, we gain something that is priceless. 

Peru changed my perspective, yet as soon as I returned to the States, I felt myself being drawn right back to where I started. It's so hard to reject material possessions as the source of happiness when we live in a culture that thrives on the next, best thing. 

Don't get me wrong, sometimes God blesses us with the things we desire. We just have to remember that there is a whole other dimension. Once we forgo earthly pleasures, we can fix our eyes upon the Author and Perfecter of our faith. We can live with the same passion that I saw in Peru. 

When we make God our treasure, we find our hearts set on God. And in my opinion, there is no better place to be.