You can trust God! – Monday, 18 September

“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.”
Matthew 6:19-20 ESV
 

Many people desire more money so that they can buy more stuff. It’s not wrong to have stuff, but most times the problem is that the stuff has us! We need to remember that all the stuff in the world can burn, and we cannot take it with us to Heaven. We should rather focus our efforts on “laying up for ourselves treasure in Heaven” where we can enjoy it for eternity.  This is referring to using money to help reach people, who will never cease to exist. We should use our resources to help people make the decision to receive Jesus (an eternal decision).

 
“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 6:24 ESV
 

Jesus is showing us that while we can have God and money, we cannot serve both. Money is one of the greatest contenders for our hearts, and it has the potential to lead us astray if we value it more than we value God in our lives.

 
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:21 ESV
 

Your heart follows your treasure. If you invest your treasure (or money) into a business, your heart will be there. You’ll regularly be wondering if your investment is doing well and if it’s benefiting you. Your heart and ultimately your focus follows where you put your treasure. This shows us that we can direct our heart by directing our treasure. If you want your heart to be concerned with God’s kingdom, then you need to sow your treasure into the kingdom.

 
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious (worry) about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
Matthew 6:25 ESV (Brackets mine)
 

One of our greatest desires and needs as human beings is the desire for physical provision. Many Christians fear that they won’t have enough money to look after themselves and their loved ones! God understands that we feel this way. Here, Jesus is encouraging us to keep things in perspective and value what is truly valuable. He’s telling us that we do not need to worry about our needs being met; we should focus on the more important things in life. Because God is our Father and He loves us, He is the one who takes responsibility for looking after our needs.