Value systems get tested

 

 

We are finally able to take a vacation, out of semi-isolation and into a very large city, luxury accommodations and golf courses galore. The grocery store alone was a treasure trove and I’m sure shopping centers will offer more temptations.

In the Bible, TREASURE is both a noun and a verb. My focus today is on the verb; my treasure is what I highly value. This holiday will be a test, not only because of the abundance of stuff, but about the freedom to travel, see things, set a different schedule, and all sorts of other choices.

It seems good to start out with David. In 1 Chronicles 29:3 he says, ”Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God.” David’s material wealth belonged to God.

Later, he describes how God fills “wombs with treasure”, referring to children, yet so often the legacy left to them is “abundance” referring to stuff. David’s son understood true treasure means passing on matters of faith to our children who are an even greater treasure. He said in Proverbs 2:1–5 and 15:16:

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” and “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.”

This same man, Solomon, also wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:8–11 how he “gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces” and all else that his heart desired, keeping nothing from his enjoyment, yet he “considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” Treasure is not stuff!

Isaiah also wrote, “The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.”

Even though the most common use of treasure in the NT is about material riches, God makes it plain that what we treasure says much about our heart: Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” and Matthew 12:35, “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.”

Instead of setting my heart on money and stuff, God wants me to value the “kingdom of heaven” that He likens to treasure hidden in a field that is worth all else that I have. He also says, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.”

Treasure is not about stuff, but about Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4:5–7 puts it this way:

“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

God also tells me not to “set my hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” I’m to “do good, be rich in good works, be generous and ready to share” thus “storing up treasure for myself as a good foundation for the future, so that I may take hold of that which is truly life.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Because “In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” and because Moses saw the abuse suffered for Christ as wealth greater “than the treasures of Egypt” and because nothing else is eternal, my focus is to be on Jesus — which is my prayer for these days of wandering through and gazing at many worldly treasures. I’ve no reason to put my heart on a treasure trove of stuff that will not glorify Jesus Christ or go with me into eternity.