On more than one occasion, Jesus talked to his followers about worldly possessions. And on one occasion in particular, he hit the topic from a couple of angles. In Luke 12, he tells his disciples what to do when it comes to the bare necessities of life: food, clothing, and shelter. He tells them: “Don’t worry about things like that. God knows you need that stuff. You’ll be taken care of in that regard.”
But then Jesus takes it a step further. He tells those listening: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” It’s important to remember he’s speaking directly to his disciples here. He’s not necessarily telling every single person to get rid of everything they’ve got. But still he gives a great principle on why he told his disciples that, and it’s a principle we should pay close attention to.
In that same verse, he offers this thought: “Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” In other words, hold your material possessions very loosely. They’re not going to last forever anyway. Put your attention toward things that will matter in the halls of eternity.
In verse 34, Jesus says something that gives another great guideline when it comes to approaching the topic of possessions. He declares, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Jesus knew it would be easy for possessions to become what people treasure. And he didn’t want people’s hearts to be wrapped around things that won’t last.
To bring the words of Jesus into your situation, ask yourself: Where do I want my heart to be? Your heart (that is, your attention, your energy) will go somewhere, and there are only so many places it can go. It’s going to gravitate toward the thing (or things) you treasure.
So, if you find your heart going toward a lot of things that don’t really matter—and it’s always at the expense of the things that do matter—it’s time to consider if something should stay or go.
If your heart follows the things you treasure, don’t hold too tightly to those treasures that don’t mean very much. Things that don’t matter in the long run shouldn’t eat up a lot of space in our hearts.
That’s all for now. Before next time, read Luke chapters 13 and 14.
Prayer: “Heavenly Father, help me make decisions that point my heart to what matters most. Amen.”