What’s your treasure?

treasure
Tommy Boland

The adventure film National Treasure has been a favorite of mine since I first saw it in 2004.  It is loosely based on the myth of a secret code inscribed on the back of the Declaration of Independence by its signers.  The deciphering of this secret code would lead the treasure hunters, led by Ben Gates (Nicholas Cage), to the discovery of a fantastic collection of treasure that, for centuries, had been protected and passed down by the Knights Templar and Freemasons.  I am convinced that films like National Treasure and the hugely successful Indiana Jones series are so popular because they connect viewers with  their inner treasure hunter.  If, indeed, we are all treasure hunters, the question that must be answered is: “What kind of treasure are we spending our lives to discover?”

The greatest treasure

Jesus cautioned His disciples, “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” (Matthew 6:19-21).  In this brief but penetrating passage, Jesus sets forth four powerful truths that relate to treasure hunting.

TRUTH #1

The first truth is found in the fact that everyone is a treasure hunter.  Jesus does not leave room for any other option.  He assumes that treasure hunting is a mark of all humanity.  Anything of value is a treasure, and we are all seeking value.  It may be the value of a certain amount of income.  Perhaps it is a style of living that indicates you have “made it.”  Maybe it is a position of power and prestige in your company, community, or church.  In his book, A Quest For More, Paul Tripp asks, “If I watched the video of your last year, what treasure would I conclude you’re after?”

TRUTH #2

The second truth is found in the various classes of treasure: earthly and heavenly, carnal and spiritual, important and unimportant, little and big, temporal and eternal.  We always have two choices in treasure hunting; we can hunt for the stuff we want or the stuff God wants for us.

It’s important to note that we could, in fact, be pursuing the treasure God wants us to pursue, but for the wrong reasons, like personal power or self-centered glorification.  For example, a church elder who enjoys the prestige of authority rather than the fulfillment of serving is pursuing godly treasure, but with the entirely wrong motive!

TRUTH #3

The third truth is framed in the divine “abstain/advance” imperative from Jesus.  Jesus warns us to abstain from pursuing earth-bound little kingdom treasures and to advance in the direction of pursuing heaven-bound big kingdom treasures.  The Apostle Paul passed this truth on to his young assistant, Timothy: “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed” (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

TRUTH #4

The fourth truth makes it clear that what we pursue and possess ultimately pursues and possesses us.  It is a matter of the heart; “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

It was a matter of the heart for both Adam and Eve.  With hearts made for God, they both sought to satisfy their deepest longings in something other than God, something that could never satisfy them, and all humanity has been on a downward spiral ever since.  Satan promised Adam and Eve something they already had–life; instead, they received something they were never intended to experience–death.  This is always the result of chasing after the wrong kind of treasure.  The promise at the beginning is attractive and enticing, but at the end of the day, it inevitably leads to some kind of death.

When we hunt for treasure other than the only treasure that was meant to satisfy us, we are never satisfied. “The Preacher,” author of Ecclesiastes, is considered by many scholars to be none other than King Solomon, whose vast accumulation of wealth eclipsed that of any other Israelite king, yet his heart was led astray from God. His testimony is illustrative:

treasureWhatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11).

Apart from God, everything is hollow, empty, and woefully less than God’s best for our lives.  Settling for something smaller than God is settling for a life smaller than the one God intended for us to live.  It is living a life for nothing greater than life itself.  C.S. Lewis rightly observed in Mere Christianity:

“If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the  most for the present world were those who thought most of the next.  The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven.  It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have becomes so ineffective in this one.  Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’; aim at earth and you will get neither.”

It all comes down to identifying what we are living for in this life.  When we seek the treasures of earth, we live for nothing more than the life we are living.  When we seek the treasures of heaven, we live for so much more.  Living in the light of eternity causes us to pursue treasures that create eternal investments.  This is living a life shaped by Christ and His kingdom, which brings a satisfaction that transcends anything we could ever find in the pursuit of anything smaller than God Himself.

NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Rev. Tommy Boland is the men’s minister and sports minister at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. He also teaches adult Sunday school. For more information, including Bible study resource materials, please e-mail  [email protected] or visit www.TommyBoland.com

For more articles by Dr. Tommy Boland, visit goodnewsfl.org/tommy-boland.

 

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