“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.” Matthew 6:19-21
You and I live in a materialistic society, with consumerism metastasizing at an alarming rate. Paul Mazur of Lehman Brothers states, “We must shift America from a needs to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old have been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man’s desires must overshadow his needs.”1
Our culture preaches a gospel of relentless pursuit of material possessions. There will always be something else we need – or would it be better termed desire? At some point, we need to draw the line. We must stop living as though we’re staying and live as though we’re passing through.
The Bible reminds us no one is guaranteed tomorrow. Our lives are like a breath, our days like a passing shadow (Psalm 144:4). As followers of Christ, our focus should be on the eternal, not the temporal. God calls us to a higher standard of living; laying up treasure in heaven, not here on earth. Earth is not our permanent home – heaven is (Philippians 3:20).
How, then, do we lay up treasures for eternity? By investing in and leaving a legacy of faith. Here are three practical steps:
Being a follower of Christ means our focus is not on living in abundance but on living an abundant life in Christ(John 10:10). This, by far, is a better way to live.
1 https://www.businessinsider.com/birth-of-consumer-culture-2013-2