NIV: Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes
The Message: Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within.
Remember Jesus when he talked about not storing up treasure on earth where the moths eat and rust destroys?
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Matthew 6:19 (NIV)
There are some people who’s sole aim in life is to get as much as possible, to acquire wealth, belongings, fame, power. But in reality, what are they actually doing? They are storing up for themselves anxiety, worry, hatred enmity, looking to amass that which does not last, that fades and rots away. So many of us have our priorities wrong. We focus on the things of this world, not the eternal world, the heavenly world where we will, if we are believers, spend eternity. What is the point of having a large bank balance, the latest fashions, the newest car, the biggest house, always trying to do one better than our neighbours? Yes, it is good to have the comfort of having money in the bank, knowing you can pay all your bills. It is always good to feel the approbation of others, to know people look up to you, respect you, maybe even fear you. But what exactly does all this do for you? Where does it get you? What will happen when you die? Where will you go? Is it just a case of being buried six feet under and your body rotting away or is there more to life than this?
If all that happens when we die is that we get buried or cremated and that is an end of us, then fine. You may as well make life here on earth as pleasant as possible for yourself and let everyone else fend for themselves. After all, if we only have 50, 60, 70 years or more to spend on earth, then a bit of comfort and luxury would be really lovely. It would be great to be pampered, to have every worry and care taken care of, money in the bank, good clothes in the wardrobe, a lovely house, a nice car, the respect of friends, family, neighbours, and others. Why not make life as comfortable for yourself as you can, and let everyone else fend for themselves?
But what if there is more to life? What if there really is a God, it wasn't just a big bang, a fluke, that caused the earth, the universe to be created. What if it is not just evolution that has led us to be where we are today? What if the bible is true, if God really did send His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us, if Jesus really did exist, truly is the Son of God and is not just fiction, or a mere man whose followers and him out to be more than he ever was?
Because if there is more to life, if God really does exist and His Son died on the cross to save us, then all the wealth in the world, the finest clothes, the biggest car, the mansion in the private grounds with its own swimming pool, the fame, the fortune, will not save us from the judgment of God. One day, every knee shall bow to Jesus, every single knee:
It is written: 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'Every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Romans: 11-12 (NIV)
So storing up treasure here on earth is absolutely pointless, because what we should be doing is storing up treasure on heaven since that is where we will be spending eternity. Unless, of course, you don't believe in God, in Jesus, or in the bible where we are told Jesus is the only way to God:
Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 NIV
So what exactly do you believe and where are you storing up your treasures?
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