Storing up treasure

I love a bargain! Finding a great item on sale or clearance gives me a thrill, and I will shop around until I find the best bang for my buck.

Here’s the thing about a good deal: it’s hard to turn down! I have an extremely hard time not buying a sale item when I see how much I’ve saved. Old Navy is having a huge sale on jeans, you say? I don’t need jeans, but at that price I might as well get some. I have a 30% off coupon in my email, well I’d sure hate for that to go to waste.

You get the idea. BOGO, clearance, sale, bargain. All of those words catch my attention and quite often my pocketbook, too.

One afternoon, as I was mindlessly scrolling through great deals on items I don’t need, conviction washed over me and Jesus’ words from Matthew 6 came to mind.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

I will admit I have no problem storing up treasures on earth. It is not difficult or challenging in any way, however, it is not truly satisfying, either.

Because those half-priced jeans I bought at Old Navy will end up in the donation pile next year as styles change and other jeans come along. And that item I bought for 30% off will likely break or go missing, thanks to my curious children, and I’ll forget all about in my quest for the next gadget or gizmo.

I have discovered the longer I look at influencer accounts, the less content I am. The more I have, and the more I want, the more burdened I become. And as I spend to acquire, there is little question as to where my treasures are being stored and where my heart lies.

Where are you storing your treasure? Are you storing up things on earth? Are you spending most of your money, time, and efforts on things that will break or be destroyed? Possessions that will temporarily satisfy?

Or are you storing up treasures in Heaven? Are you spending your money, time, and effort on the things of Christ? Giving, serving, ministering, and seeking Him, treasuring the things He treasures?

It takes faith to store up treasures in Heaven, my friend. But the reality is that we are all storing up in one place or the other. The choice is ours. But when we begin treasuring the things of Christ, and seeking Christ for the treasure that He is, we find that we are eternally satisfied.