When we stand before God, our baseball card collection won’t mean very much. How we’ve responded to God’s love will!
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While traveling to Tennessee and Georgia, my wife and I did some antiquing. It is so enjoyable to browse through the countless treasures of years gone by. I find delight in old cabinets, baseball history, old miniature cars and trucks, toys, kitchen gadgets and so on. I especially love finding items from my childhood.
This is the challenge: How do we manage our pleasure? It comes from buying things, engaging in our hobbies, or being in nature. For some it’s hiking, biking, running, golf, or old cars.
Will you ask this question of every object or activity that brings you joy? “How MUCH am I to enjoy it?”
Whether it’s eating out or getting a massage, how often do we choose to do so? What governs the way we manage the things that bring us happiness? Especially when they are not inherently unhealthy or sinful.
Storing up Treasure
I believe proper “management” comes from being willing to honestly assess our “treasures”. Do you prize or value anything that takes you away from what Scripture describes as the ultimate treasure? It isn’t a question of either/or, but rather HOW we apply Matthew 6:19-21 to our lives. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (ESV) In light of this Scripture, where are you storing your treasure?
The ultimate treasure
When we stand before God, our baseball card collection won’t mean very much. HOW we’ve responded to God’s love will! He will know if we are truly His and how much of our lives were lived for His kingdom. So, friends, enjoy the simple pleasures of life, AND make sure your heart is fully engaged in loving Jesus. Then ensure your life is reflecting that HE is most important to you. He, alone, is most deserving, for He has given His ALL to us!
