Haggai 1:6 “Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.”
II Corinthians 10:12 “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
Matthew 6:19-21 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
We live in a society consumed by consumption. We worship wealth and thirst after treasure. We measure ourselves by our material output. Yet, we never find the happiness that we think will come at the other end of the cash register or the checkout stand. Our shopping bag leaks like a sieve as our wages seep out and are swept away.
American Christians often get caught up in this societal obsession. We sometimes mimic the consumption addiction we see around us, forgetting that our earthly treasures are corrupted by moth and rust and our competition with others provides an unwise and unreliable standard.
Instead, we are to invest our lives in non-material items with eternal significance. After all, laying up heavenly treasure provides a permanence to our efforts as compared to the fleeting folly of the race on the earthly treadmill.
PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO AVOID THE EARTHLY AND AFFIX TO THE HEAVENLY. May our hearts follow the permanent treasure of heavenly significance.
