.."But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:21-22
Jesus asks us to store our riches in heaven.
If I were to put that in today's language, I am being asked to invest in heaven.
How the heck do I invest in heaven, or accumulate spiritual wealth? Am I supposed to donate my income to church or charity? Would that make me a 'good person', worthy of a place in heaven? But if in the process, I end up turning my back on my family, my responsibilities and opt for hermitage, am I really a 'good person' then?
My take on this is to look at the 'spirit' behind my investments (or use of money and time), the motivation and attitude behind my use of money and time. It starts with putting God first, "loving Him with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul", then "loving my neighbor as my self". The beauty of loving God is that He asks us to express our love for Him by loving neighbor AND self.
Our investments must be made in our relationships, with others, with self, on a foundation of our relationship with Him. We use our time and money to take care of ourselves and develop deeper bonds with others, starting from self, to family, radiating outwards. He doesn't stop us from investing in our selves, to make ourselves happy and healthy and peaceful. But He reminds us that it is just the starting point. He reminds us to invest time and money to take care of our families, not just through loving encounters but, indirectly, by making sure we remain productive (work-wise) so we can provide for them. Then, we touch others in our work, and build relationships there, too.
Again, it doesn't and shouldn't stop there. As we build our relationships with others, we are reminded that we do this in the context of loving God, of being faithful to him. Hence, the relationships should enshrine the values He espouses like honesty, compassion, forgiveness.
Treasure lies in relationships with God, family and friendships. And that is where the heart should be.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
2 comments:
You are on target. However, the call of Jesus expands the focus which is much wider than mere relationship with God, self and family. Everything is a gift. We are only stewards of all we have, whether be talents, skills, money and other qualities for the good of humanity. All these are to be freely given to those we know, those we don't know and those we don't want or wish to know. Loving God is loving our neighbor, not that the act giving determines our likes or dislikes, but the NEED of others determines our freedom to give. A freedom borne of the inordinate attachment to these material things. This is hard to do, but the spirit of Jesus has been given to us to enable us to be Christ-like in all we do. Thanks be to God!
Treasure lies in relationships with God, family and friendships. And that is where the heart should be.
Amen to that bro!!!
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