Have you ever met anyone who was obsessed with stuff? Have you ever known someone who wanted more and more of everything? Do you know people who can’t seem to get enough? Have you ever met someone who never seemed satisfied and you couldn’t figure out why?
If you put your faith in “stuff” you will never have enough. You will never, ever be satisfied. There will always be something newer, shinier, better, faster on the market. It will make you dizzy just trying to keep up. And those things all have price tags, some costing you more than just money.
If you focus on the wrong things, it will hurt your relationships with those closest to you. It will hurt your relationship with God because you are not focusing on Him. And, when you put God on the “back burner,” He loses priority as the “Number One” in your life. And, when you are not right with God, nothing else will make sense in your life.
In the Bible, we read, in Matthew 6:19-20, “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.” If you lay up treasures in Heaven, nothing will ever happen to them. Think about that. What you do for God and the Kingdom of Heaven will last forever and ever.
There is no competition in Heaven. You don’t have to worry about finding the latest and greatest of anything. You take the talents and gifts and abilities that God has given you and make the most of them. You do your very best to spread the Good News to everyone you meet and encourage them in God’s love.
God’s Kingdom is rock-solid and steadfast. It will never change rulers, it will never collapse. Any other kingdom is not permanent. It simply won’t last.
Why not put your faith, and time, and talents into something that will last forever? Why would you want to work so hard to build a “wobbly kingdom” for yourself that could collapse at any moment? It seems like a lot of work and worry and effort for something that will last, at most, until you die.
Where you spend your time and effort is where your heart is. Matthew 19:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” That verse should be enough to propel us to really take a heart inventory and see what really matters to us. As long as we are alive and conscious, we can change if we don’t have our priorities right with God and our loved ones.
So, this week, I challenge you to do a “Kingdom Inventory” in your life. Think about where you are spending your time and talent and energy. Are you working to grow the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of your own life? Be encouraged and be blessed!
