Day 8 - Look Up, Not Ahead

A Weightless Devotional

"Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19–21)

Who doesn’t want treasures? We all secretly—if not obviously—long to find valuable treasures as we travel through life. These treasures, we imagine, will bring us joy in the form of wealth, acceptance, or comfort. We learn from an early age that our stuff can protect us from life’s hardships, helping us to feel accepted, protected, and provided for. But if we peel back the layers and get to the bottom of it, we may just find that the inclination to store up earthly treasures comes from a deeper, more primal instinct. If we are willing to be honest with ourselves, we may see that we lay up treasure so that our future doesn’t look so bleak, and so that we can be confident and hopeful, knowing that we are at the very least taken care of.

When you get down to the root of our collecting stuff, our gathering treasures to hide or to look at, it is not for the purpose of bringing God glory but us comfort. Maybe that is why Jesus tells us not to store up treasures on earth— because it puts our focus and reliance not on the Father, but on ourselves, which is a perfect recipe for anxiety.