Where Your Heart Is

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ²²The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; ²³but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! ²⁴No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Matthew 6:19-24

We live in a consumer society that defines success, directly or indirectly, based on the amount of possessions or wealth a person has. This is mindset is instilled in us at a very young age and is reinforced through extremely effective advertising and marketing. The siren call of materialism sucks us in before we are even aware of it, and without a lifestyle of active resistance, we will find ourselves living an empty and idolatrous life. The problem of materialism is there is never enough to satisfy our appetites. There will never be a time when a person can be content or at peace. Instead, we race after the newest and best thing, mortgaging our financial futures for fleeting pleasure and losing our soul in the process.


Materialism is not new to the human condition. Jesus knew how people struggled to find peace, contentment, and spiritual purpose. His prescription is strong medicine for the sickness of affluenza: generosity. Jesus instructs us that we cannot serve God and wealth. We have to decide because both will compete for first place in our lives. The only way to move beyond our materialistic appetites is through behavior modification.


We cannot think our way to change we must act our way to change. Jesus says: "where your treasure is, your heart will be also." He doesn't say put your treasure where your heart is, but the opposite. Wherever we invest our wealth will get our heart. This is a natural connection. If all of my money is in the stock market, I will monitor it very closely. By contrast, if I invest in a local charity or service organization, I will be more likely to volunteer or serve. The antidote to the idolatry of materialism and greed is generosity. We cannot wait for our hearts to decide to be generous however, we must give first. Becoming generous through giving will change our hearts and change our lives. This is the only cure and Jesus, the great physician, knows our hearts and what we need to become whole. Let us give generously and allow God to change our hearts!


Prayer: Lord, give me the courage and strength to be generous with all you have given me. Change my heart and allow me to keep my focus on your purposes in the world, in Jesus' name, AMEN.