Jesus 101: Bank It in Heaven


We're material beings by nature.  That's a constant of human history.  Seems we can never get enough stuff.  No matter how much we make, we think if we made just a little bit more, we would be happy!

But in Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus comes along and tells us not to accumulate wealth on earth, where we can lose it.  Instead, we should bank wealth in heaven, where we can't lose it.

Makes sense, given that eternity is so long and life here on earth is so short.  But life here on earth is now and visible, and life in eternity is in the future and invisible!

When we follow Christ, we enter God's eternal kingdom, and start living by its values.  The values of the kingdom are the opposite of those of the here and now.  The here and now evaluates people by how many material things they accumulate.  The kingdom evaluates them by how much they give away!  The list goes on!

How do we accumulate heavenly treasure?  Jesus doesn't say here, but elsewhere he says that we do when we experience persecution for living by the kingdom's values and when we give to the poor.  Elsewhere, the scriptures say we do by our service for the kingdom.

Jesus says we can't serve two masters.  We'll love one and hate the other.  We can't serve God and money.  Though we really try.  Just ask the Prosperity Gospel preachers!

Though laying up treasure in heaven seems like too much deferred gratification, we have to remember that treasure on earth gives neither lasting value nor satisfaction.  

Trying to satisfy the longings of our souls with money is like trying to satisfy our thirst by drinking sea water.  The more you drink sea water, the thirstier you become.  And you die faster!

Something to think about!

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