Earthly Treasures

“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.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
“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. Matthew 6:19-24

While recuperating from back surgery, I have watched a good deal of TV. There are a ton of car ads on all the time, and I am amazed to see how people sell cars. We are sold cars for our identity, for who we think we are, who we want people to believe us to be and for major bragging rights. Yes, safety and reliability is mentioned, but it is so far down on the list, Being cool and aggressive seem so much more important. We Americans seem totally identified with our vehicles, as if our family, our faith, and our talents really mean nothing. The clothes and the car seem to make the person in our society still.

Jesus continues to give life instructions to the disciples. We have the opportunity to listen in as he tells them about real and fake treasures. The things we prize and call treasures on earth rust and fade away, while love and faith never die. All of the gold in the world cannot bring love, and no expensive auto, home or other flashy accessory can build up faith. We are invited today to make treasures of the gifts that last - the love we have, the love we share and our faith and relationships which defy even the grave.

Today, I ask God to help me focus on the real treasures and put worry aside. It is easy to get distracted by the earthly treasures, and hard not to worry when money is extremely tight. God has a solution and abundance, despite our lack. I ask God to help us all put time and effort into relationships, in the care and tending of others as we deepen our relationship with God. May nour lives reflect the eternity of God's love breaking forth today in our anxious world.