“Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2 NLT)
How happy would you be if you deposited $10,000 in your bank account, but when you went to take some out, it was all gone? Exasperated you ask: “What happened to my money?” To which the person from the bank says: “We used it to throw a party for our employees.”
You and I would be livid to think someone would have the audacity to use OUR money for THEIR purposes! Yet, we often do the very same thing with the money God gives us to be used for HIS purposes. The Lord gives us 100% of the income we have and, while He expects us to use all of it wisely, He asks us to return a portion back to Him to be used specifically for the accomplishment of His purposes.
Some may object: “Whoa, wait a minute, I earned every dime I’m paid. Where do you get off telling me God provides what I make?” Who do you think got you the job? Where did you get the energy and intellect to do the job? Who engineered the circumstances to put you in the right place to meet the right person at the right time to give you an opportunity to have that job?
One of the frustrations I had when I was actively serving the Lord vocationally, was having to depend on the money the church paid me to live. My dream was to be able to do what Pastor Rick Warren did when he began to receive royalties from his writing. He repaid every penny the church ever paid him and lived on the income the Lord provided through his writing.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
The word translated “treasure” is the Greek word “thesaurus (thay-sow-ros’)” from which comes our English word “Thesaurus,” which means “treasure or collection.” Our treasure isn’t simply dollars and cents, it’s often what the money can buy or provide for us. And notice, Jesus didn’t say “where your desires are, there your treasure will also be.” Our heart follows the money that purchases what becomes our treasure.
Think of the difference it would make, not only in how we use our money, but how we’d live our lives if Jesus was truly our Treasure. What if every penny we spent was passed through the filter of God’s permission? And hear me, I’m not there yet, but the Lord is laying it on my heart, that just as I don’t waste food, I mustn’t waste money.
What might it look like if Jesus was our Treasure? What is a treasure? Isn’t it what our time, energy, and affection is centered and focused upon? If our house is our treasure, we care for it meticulously. If something breaks, we fix it; if it needs painted, roof repaired, appliances replaced, heating/AC system needs repaired or replaced; whatever it needs, it becomes our top priority. It’s the same with cars, boats, airplanes, vacation homes, and on and on.
We build treasure in heaven by investing our time, money, energy, enthusiasm, and prayers in those in our spheres of influence who aren’t walking with Jesus. We allow what breaks the heart of God to break our heart. We invest hours in prayer for the souls of our family and friends. We make visits, calls, write notes or letters, and make endless invitations for them to meet with us and or attend church with us.
The Lord’s not going to wink at us and say “nice ride” because we put the money, He gave us to reach our loved ones and neighbors, into a car, house, of something else we didn’t need. He’s going to reward us for being wise stewards of everything He made available to us to build treasure in heaven.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 