Hold Things Of The World More Loosely

"Do not store up treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth 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 (NIV). 

At the annual gathering of a group in the past week, the talk got around to cars, pick-up trucks, and vans, and how important they are to our worldly way of life. I noticed that, of the seven or eight cars in the driveway, all were different makes and models. They were bought to satisfy particular personal needs or desires of their owners.


The bottom line is that the cars are worldly possessions, and they reflect what is important to us, the owners. A year from now, at the next gathering, many of them will have been replaced by a new model. Replacement will not likely be out of necessity but out of the desire to have the best from the grab bag of toys that the economy presents.


I thought back to September 11, 2001, and recalled how the stately world symbols of achievement and mastery came tumbling down. The point is that all of the symbols of worldly success can crash just as easily as the twin towers in New York City.


We get too closely attached to the material things of life, and we forget the spiritual foundations. Wealth and things are not condemned in and of themselves. What Jesus condemns is greed and hoarding. What we treasure in life is most often the place where our heart will be found. We must learn to hold the things of this world more loosely, and the things of God's kingdom more firmly.