"Where your treasure is, there your heart will follow."
This is a powerful statement. Considering all of us who live in the United States have more "treasures" than not only every other country, but every other generation who ever lived, we are going to struggle with a certain Biblical principle. The more things we seem to have, the more easily we are distracted from that which matters: people.
When I first got my car five years ago I would not let people eat in it. Now I throw my wrappers and empty bottles in the back when I'm done and hope there was nothing else on it. I struggle at times to remember that the things that I own are first of all not really mine (they are God's) and second of all they do not get me into heaven. I will take nothing with me. That being said, I should use everything, I say it again, EVERYTHING, for the glory of God and not myself.
The Bible says by doing good works you store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Now remember, good works don't get you into heaven. Good works store up treasures in heaven if you make the choice to follow Christ and go there. He who dies with the most stuff is still dead. Let's use what we have been given to glorify God, and have a mindset for the biggest part of our existence: heaven.
The first emporer of the Qing Dynasty in China spent 40 years of his life building 8,000 Terra Cotta warriors so he could have them in the afterlife. He must have been pretty frustrated when he showed up there alone...
A great reference for this topic is "The Treasure Principle" by: Randy Alcorn.
This is a powerful statement. Considering all of us who live in the United States have more "treasures" than not only every other country, but every other generation who ever lived, we are going to struggle with a certain Biblical principle. The more things we seem to have, the more easily we are distracted from that which matters: people.
When I first got my car five years ago I would not let people eat in it. Now I throw my wrappers and empty bottles in the back when I'm done and hope there was nothing else on it. I struggle at times to remember that the things that I own are first of all not really mine (they are God's) and second of all they do not get me into heaven. I will take nothing with me. That being said, I should use everything, I say it again, EVERYTHING, for the glory of God and not myself.
The Bible says by doing good works you store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Now remember, good works don't get you into heaven. Good works store up treasures in heaven if you make the choice to follow Christ and go there. He who dies with the most stuff is still dead. Let's use what we have been given to glorify God, and have a mindset for the biggest part of our existence: heaven.
The first emporer of the Qing Dynasty in China spent 40 years of his life building 8,000 Terra Cotta warriors so he could have them in the afterlife. He must have been pretty frustrated when he showed up there alone...
A great reference for this topic is "The Treasure Principle" by: Randy Alcorn.
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