William Shakespeare, in his play “The Merchant of Venice” wrote:
All that glisters is not gold
What do we think of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6?
“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
Do you allow the idea of “heavenly treasure” to impact you on a daily basis? Does the command of Jesus motivate you to work for the good of others?
If you’re like me you’ve probably answered “no” to both of those questions but I think these are good questions to consider particularly given the fact that at this time in the year we are probably more aware of earthly treasures than heavenly ones. Certainly, our Western materialistic culture encourages us to get all that we can get now because after this life there isn’t anything else.
And for a moment … when we unwrap and peel aware the paper to reveal the treasure, we’re satisfied. If just for a moment, our hearts are filled. But … let’s think about it from a biblical perspective:
- gifts are good
- treasures are good
- being satisfied in treasure is good
So what’s the problem? the problem, Jesus says, is not the fact that we are longing for treasures to satisfy us but the treasure itself leads us to be satisfied in something else. This is why Jesus says “don’t treasure what is on earth” because our hearts will become earthy! We will love and adore things on earth more than things in heaven. Our world and all that is in it will be a god to us. Without Christ this is our best hope – seek little gods to satisfy and fill you. Treasure – oh yeah, that’s a biggie. All that glitters isn’t gold – all that glitters is god. It’s a poor shadow of the real treasure that will fill us completely and forever.
This is why Paul exhorts us to “set our minds on things above”. Love cherish long for this treasure.
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