A Better Treasure

Work isn't something you just get up and decide to do one day. It takes years of preparation before you can do it.

It took me a long time to work my way up to work. I had to survive years of elementary school playground fights, high school finals, boring summer jobs, and the unnerving college entrance process. (College itself was a delightful social romp, but please don't tell my parents.) I endured it all as a necessary price to obtain a job and earn a living. And in my vision, it wouldn't just be a living but untold wealth that would certainly come with 40 years of biweekly paychecks!

I consented to those years of preparation, because I expected a greater treasure down the road.

Maybe it says something about our society that my educational focus was always on what I would do for a living. My years of sitting in classrooms and sweeping backrooms weren't preparing me to be a good father, or volunteer, or even a strong Christian. They were preparing me to work. (I should have realized that when I attended Donald Trump Elementary School.)

A New Kind of Treasure

But something happened on the way to business mogul-dom. I got married. Then I got kids. And, as I sought to learn how to deal with those changes, I also rediscovered my own parents. Suddenly (over maybe 10 years), I had an alternate occupation: family man.

And this occupation seemed as important, and perhaps more “morally” good, than just trying to earn enough money so I could eventually stop working. But how could I give up chasing the work “treasure” I had pursued my entire educational career?

I found guidance in Matthew 6:19-21. Jesus describes a new way to think about money. Specifically, he suggests we stop chasing it.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

For somebody whose goal was to earn enough to have a two-car garage, this is radical thinking. Jesus was calling for a new set of priorities.

Treasure for the Long Term

So my paradigm had to shift a bit. I had to consider what kind of treasures I could accumulate in heaven. I assumed the greatest treasure was my relationship with God, but then I heard a speaker add another treasure to this list. He suggested that we take our relationships with other Christians with us when we go to heaven. So investing in those relationships on earth not only strengthens the body of Christ here, but stores up for us treasures in heaven. And that includes my friends at church. My coworkers. And my family.

It was affirmation for that alternate occupation. And the next time I question my priorities, I remind myself what treasures will endure.

And it won't be my two-car garage. (If I ever get one.)