Treasures in Heaven

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

In India, monkeys are considered sacred. Most people refuse to kill them, so as you might guess, in certain parts of India monkeys are running loose all over the place. That presents a problem for the farmers who grow crops that monkeys happen to like—crops like bananas.

So, years ago, a certain farmer came up with an ingenious way to capture monkeys without killing them. The farmer drills a hole into a coconut and places a banana inside it. Then he ties the other end of the coconut to a tree. Before long a monkey will come by, smell the banana, and reach into the coconut for an easy meal. But with his fist clenched around the banana, he can’t fit it back through the hole of the coconut. And even when the farmer walks up to the monkey to grab him, the monkey refuses to let go of it.

Silly monkey! At any moment he could be free by simply letting go of the banana. But he is imprisoned by his own greed. You and I are a lot like monkeys aren’t we? We like to hold on to our stuff, and we don’t like to let go of it, even when it imprisons us. If you’re a monkey lover, you’d probably love to somehow get that dumb Indian monkey to understand that if he’d just let go of the banana, he could be free. Unfortunately, you don’t speak monkey. But Jesus does speak human. And in the Sermon on the Mount, His words can get us dumb humans to understand that we’re only hurting ourselves when we cling to the stuff inside our coconuts. Jesus lovingly urges us to let it go.

In Matthew 6:19, Jesus tells His followers, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” Jesus is reminding us that all the stuff we own is temporary. And because it’s temporary, its ability to bring us pleasure is temporary. As theologian William Barclay put it: “All purely physical pleasures have a way of wearing out. At each successive enjoyment of them the thrill becomes less thrilling. It requires more of them to produce the same effect. They are like a drug which loses its initial potency and which becomes increasingly less effective. A man is a foolish man who finds his pleasures in things which are bound to offer diminishing returns.”

So, storing up treasures on earth is a really bad idea. And in verse 20, Jesus tells us where we should store up treasures: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” But what does it mean to store up treasures in heaven? Well, it doesn’t just mean to do good stuff here on earth for God so that God will do good stuff for you one day in heaven. And it doesn’t just mean to use your stuff here on earth for God so that He’ll give you better stuff in heaven.

What does it mean to store up treasures in heaven? It means to invest everything you have—your time, talents and treasures—in God’s kingdom work. (I like to call them the three T’s.) Many Christians throw something into the offering box and think that’s good enough for God. Others are scared to give God a whole 10% tithe, so they offer God some of their time and talent instead. But Jesus calls us to give all three T’s to invest everything we have in God’s kingdom work. Our cars are to be available for kingdom work. Our homes are to be available for kingdom work. Our clothes and our food and our toys are to be available for kingdom work. Even our weekends are to be available for God’s kingdom work.

In verse 21, Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be with you.” In other words, our money goes where our heart goes. We spend our money on what we care most about and prioritize. There’s nothing wrong with owning nice things—as long as those nice things don’t own US. There are umpteen different things that you could do with your time and your talents. Where you choose to use your three T’s reveals where your heart is. Honestly, Jesus doesn’t need your money. He doesn’t need your talents. And He doesn’t need your time. But He wants it … because He wants your heart. Jesus asks each of us in verses 19-21, “Where is your treasure?”

So, in a nutshell, Jesus is saying: “If your eyes are focused on material things, and your thoughts are focused on material things, and your heart finds its joy and purpose in material things—then money is your god. And if money is your god, you’re just like a monkey whose hand is stuck in a coconut. As you selfishly cling to the stuff of this world, you’ll end up losing everything that really matters. Only what you release to God and use for His kingdom work will last.”

You’ve got a clear choice. Serve God or serve money? Jesus asks, “Who are you serving?”

I hope and pray that God will always find us on duty—investing our time, talents and treasures in God’s kingdom work. Loving people. Serving those in need. And the greatest work of all—leading people into a saving relationship with Christ.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

A Lesson from Kobe Bryant

I don’t know about you, but I was stunned after church this past Sunday when a couple of our teens informed me that Kobe Bryant had just been killed in a helicopter crash. At first, I thought that the boys were pulling my leg. How could it possibly be true? As long-time Lakers fans, my wife Christine and I have spent many hours over the past twenty years watching Kobe score more points than all but three players in NBA history. Kobe was only 41 years old, and he had a wife and four kids who needed him. How could this happen?

Sadly, it could happen because life here on earth is fragile. Helicopters crash. Bullets fly. Cancer strikes. And floodwaters rise. No wonder the Scriptures tell us in Ephesians 5:15-16, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

This is what we are striving to do each and every week at Impact Christian Church. We aren’t promised next year or next month. So, surrounded by 78,000 neighbors within a five-mile radius, we are setting up shop at the Ralph Baker School in Victorville every Sunday morning, making the most of every opportunity to lead people to Jesus Christ.

I was relieved to learn that Kobe Bryant was a faithful church attender. He attended an early morning Catholic mass just minutes before boarding the helicopter in Orange County. Although much Catholic teaching pollutes the pure gospel message communicated in Scripture, I hold on to the hope that Kobe, his daughter, and the other seven passengers on that helicopter were believers and followers of Jesus Christ. If so, they are in Paradise with our awesome God right now. Please join me in praying for Kobe’s wife Vanessa, her remaining three kids, and the tens of millions of people around the world who are grappling with their own mortality.

When a tragedy like this happens, it serves as a wake-up call for all of us. We must make the most of every opportunity to express our love to our spouses, our kids, and our grandkids. We must make the most of every opportunity to point our family, friends, and neighbors to Jesus Christ so that they don’t have to play the guessing game—wondering whether or not they will make it to heaven after they die. And we as a church family must continue making the most of every opportunity to roll up our sleeves and do what God has called us to do: To love others, learn God’s word, and serve Him until every last person is reached with the life-saving message of Jesus Christ.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our worship service Sundays at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.