Where Is Your Treasure? There Is Your Heart

Last updated on: August 6, 2018 at 4:00 am by Jack Wellman

Where Is Your Treasure? There Is Your Heart 2018-07-31T16:32:32-05:00 Jack Wellman

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God gives us the ability to have wealth, so what will you and I do with it? What we do with it reveals where our heart is.

Treasures

One pastor said that you can tell where a person’s heart is, or their devotion to Christ by looking at their checkbook ledger or credit card statement, and he based this upon Jesus’ teaching where He commanded, “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 destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:19-21). Treasures here on earth are anything but safe. A medical emergency could bankrupt a family. A portfolio could crumble, bringing your 401-K with it. There could be a fire, earthquake, tornado, flood, hurricane, or some other natural disaster that could put any one of us in the street, so to trust in riches is to trust in the uncertainty of this world. Solomon wrote, “Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf” (Prov 11:28), so material things can come and material things can go, but God never forsakes us or leaves us. Job “said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). The late Dr. Adrian Rogers once said, “Money talks…mostly it says, ‘Bye, bye,’” and he was right.

Possessions

Treasures don’t have to be about money. It can be a job, a position, or having a powerful influence in the community. Possessions can be owned, but owners can be possessed…by their wealth. What we end up owning, may end up owning us. How much becomes enough? The answer is, “Just a little bit more.” The Apostle Paul addresses our nature in writing to Timothy, and says that “godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Tim 6:7-8). It sounds like Paul has been reading the Book of Job. The author of Hebrews writes, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5). I notice that contentment was placed in contrast to things (money, clothing, food), as if saying, “Money may come and money may go,” but the Lord “has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Money can leave; but God? Never! What the author of Hebrews and Paul are saying is that contentment cannot be based upon things; godly contentment is based upon God Himself being trustworthy and faithful. The danger is that “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Tim 6:9-10). Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matt 6:24), and whoever “loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity” (Eccl 5:10).

The Deceitfulness of Riches

Christians are taught that “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35b), but we know it’s difficult to give, which is why we need to “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Interestingly, abundance often comes from releasing possessions. Solomon wrote that there is “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered” (Prov 11:24-25). All we need to focus on is to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to” us (Matt 6:33). “All these things” is in the context of possessions; food, clothing, and water, because in Jesus’ day, that was wealth, and the irony is, the more we try to hold on to our possessions, the tighter the grip they have on us, and so it’s no wonder that Jesus said, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:23b)! He didn’t say it was impossible, but difficult. That’s because money can be a god of sorts; it can buy anything we need, it can buy anything we want, it can satisfy all our desires; and it can give us security as far as our finances are concerned, but again, the danger is, it can be all taken away in a flash. When we trust in money, we are building on sand.

Conclusion

There is a deceitfulness of riches that most of us won’t ever have to worry about, but even the poor can covet money and never be content with what they have, but contentment is not based upon circumstances or things; it’s based on our faith in Christ. All things, no matter what they look like today, will work out for our best in the end (Rom 8:28), and someday, we won’t even be able to compare this suffering because of the glory we’ll behold in Christ (Rom 8:18). That day is coming. The day of His visitation and judgment; for believers, a time for rewards or withholding of rewards; for those who have rejected Christ, it’s a time to stand before God and try to justify yourself before Him…but without Christ, it is useless (Rom 3:10-12, 23). If you trust in the Savior today, you won’t mourn but rejoice at His appearance (Rev 1:7). Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Matt 12:30). You cannot be neutral with Jesus. There are only saints and “aint’s.” Which one are you?

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is a writer at Christian Quotes and also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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