How is it possible for Christians to hear the Word of God and still measure success by what they can accomplish in life — or what they can own?
Some have taught that it’s wrong to have anything, but Jesus said our Father knows we need some things. Jesus commented on this subject: “Do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be anxious. For the people of the world desire these things; and your Father knows you need them. Instead, seek God’s kingdom, and these things will be yours as well” (Luke 12:29-31).
Many people misquote the Bible, saying, “Money is the root of all evil.” No. The love of money is the root of all evil — greed is the root of evil.
Job was rich. Abraham (Genesis 13) and Solomon were wealthy men, although Jesus said Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as beautifully as a lily of the field.
King Solomon’s inflow of gold amounted to 666 talents each year. Translated into today’s funds, that’s about $500 million per year in gold, not counting silver and other goods received.
Jesus and his disciples had some money — Judas was their treasurer! They had food to eat and clothes to wear. Nowhere in the Bible do we find it’s wrong to have things. But how do we handle those possessions?
We shouldn’t allow possessions to possess us. A thing owns you if you can’t let go of it when necessary. How much will that possession matter 100 years from now? We’ll be in eternity a lot longer than we’re going to be here.
Keep things in perspective. St. Paul said, “The things which are not seen are temporal (transient), but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Don’t spend your life chasing things that waste away.
Remember the rich young ruler? He asked Jesus what he could do to inherit eternal life. Jesus said he should keep God’s commandments, and the young man said he’d always obeyed those. Jesus said, “One thing you still lack. Sell all you have and distribute to the poor, and you’ll have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
The young man went away sorrowful, and Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God” Luke 18:24).
Don’t allow possessions to possess you.
We should store up possessions in heaven. Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven …” (Matthew 6:19-20).
In USA Today, Oct. 30, 2003, Scott Bowles reported on a string of Southern California wildfires that claimed two dozen lives in the fall of that year.
Some residents reportedly didn’t receive enough warning to leave, but Sgt. Conrad Grayson said, “We’re begging people to leave, and they don’t take us seriously. They want to pack some clothes or fight it in the back yard with a garden hose … If people don’t move fast, they’re going to become charcoal briquettes.”
Jon Smalldridge frantically warned his neighbors but reported, “They looked like they were packing for a trip. The ones who listened to me and left the area, lived. The ones who didn’t, died.”
That’s what happens to those frantically trying to store up treasure on earth while thinking little about what really matters.
Storing up treasure in heaven involves a relationship with our Lord, a connection with the Body of Christ (those in the Church) and influencing those outside the Kingdom of God to come inside.
I like these words from “If I Stand,” a song by the late Rich Mullins:
“There’s more that rises in the morning than the sun / And more that shines in the night than just the moon / It’s more than just this fire here that keeps me warm / In a shelter that is larger than this room.
“And there’s a loyalty that’s deeper than mere sentiments / And a music higher than the songs that I can sing / The stuff of Earth competes for the allegiance / I owe only to the Giver of all good things.”
There’s more to this life than what we can see. The “stuff of Earth” is competing with eternal things. What’s winning in your life?
The Rev. Greg Davenport serves as pastor of Vineyard Assembly of God in Tramway and may be reached at vineyardassembly@alltel.net.
