Life is Always about Giving Up One Treasure for Another
The title of this post is a famous quote, oft repeated, but I haven’t been able to track down its source. It is, of course, Biblical. Hear this verse from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: Matt. 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal. The implication is that you cannot do both at the same time. Again, let’s listen to Jesus: Matt. 6:24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Let’s think of a common example: marriage. When one finds a “treasure” and proposes to her, he is giving up one treasure for another. From a world-ish point of view, he once could do pretty much as he pleased. But now, in light of this new covenantal relationship, he is to be occupied with pleasing her as well, and even pleasing her before himself. Having just celebrated 45 years of marriage, that “treasure” exchange was well worth it.
From a Biblical point of view, we recognize that we are all slaves of something. Many are slaves of their own passions, often times the pursuit of money, and so that subject is already addressed the second Bible reference above. We all serve something, often our own selves. But when we meet Christ, we are re-directed to serve others before self: Phil. 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. When we meet Jesus, we find One who has done this very thing even as He provided redemption for us: Matt. 20:28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Let me give you one more Bible illustration: Moses. God rescued him at his birth and then placed him in Pharaoh’s household in Egypt, taken from slavery to royalty. He live and grew in privilege and prosperity. But he had a heart for his people, and so he left the palace for the wilderness, entered into a long-running conflict with the most powerful man in the world, and then a life of leading an obstinate people in the wilderness for 40 years. Centuries later, the author of Hebrews says of Moses: Heb. 11:26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. He gave up one treasure for another. The first treasure was but temporal; the latter, eternal.
One could take the quote from our title and use it to better himself/herself in this world. But that is not really the point, is it? The greater point is, will you choose the treasure that is “out of this world” more than the treasure that is bound by this world, which also serves to bind you to the fate of a world? Jesus, like Moses, left the palace of heaven to ransom or redeem obstinate people like ourselves, who would then be called “His people”, having accepted His loving leadership in our lives.
Life is always about giving up one treasure for Another.
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