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Around the world in many different
ancient cultures, items buried with the dead have been found; Egypt
is a notable example. These items were
buried to appease the dead (ex.
money for the ferryman who transports you), sacrifice to the gods or things for
the deceased to use in the afterlife- tools, money, possessions with servants
and wives for the rich. We still do it
today but in North America it is usually things the
person loved such as a Bible, baseball cap or things you always wore like a
wedding ring or glasses.
The other day I finally realized why
possessions in this world are, well, nothing important. We can’t take them with us. Even if we bury every single one of our
possessions with us, they remain behind, but even if they could physically come with us- they really couldn’t. (Not even these dilapidated bodies get into Heaven.) Every single man made thing
is imperfect, flawed, corrodes, rusts, weakens, breaks down, gets ruined,
stolen, broken, etc.
In trying to make a comparison, the
things we have here are like poop compared to the glorious vitality and
excellence of Heaven. We won’t want such
ugliness when we are there. Even the
newest, fancy car here is like garbage to what will be in Heaven. In Heaven, there is no rot, death, sickness, basically
nothing anti-life exists (death is anti-life) “…for the former things are
passed away” (Rev. 21:4 KJV). One time God
blessed me with a vision of what I will look like in Heaven and the most
predominant thing is best described as ‘exuding life’, every cell, every
feature, everywhere.
Do not lay up treasures on earth for yourselves,
where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay
up treasures in Heaven for yourselves, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. Mt. 6:19-21
We work hard
to buy ourselves treasures in this life, those things that bring us pleasure or
comfort. We sacrifice to be able to
surround ourselves with what makes us feel good about life or things we think will make our lives easier, but
all those things eventually end up as waste in some way. So we spend all this time and effort on
things that won’t last. That does not
sound wise to me.
There is
nothing wrong with owning things as long as the need for things does not
control you. “…For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.” (2Pt. 2:19 ESV) Possessions can be useful for our
own lives and for others, but the problem is that we
tend toward idolatry with possessions.
We want more, better, faster, fancier…
We sacrifice
family, friends and our own health at the altar of goods and wealth. “…they
worshiped and served the created thing more than the Creator…” (Rom.
1:25) We’ll buy our child their third new ipod (upgrade) when the person in the
pew beside us is struggling to buy food, and we don’t even consider that, after
all, if we don’t see their lack or ask about their lives than our unawareness
of it makes it easier to ignore their needs.
But things are only worth something if they
further the kingdom of God. “But seek first the kingdom
of God…” (Mt. 6:33)
Now I look around and see all these
things as insignificant. If they aren’t
going to do the most important thing, help people to know and follow the Lord
Jesus Christ so that they can one day experience blessed eternal life, then I
don’t need them. Better to spend the
money on something that can help people find the Lord. So I think my life has changed again, and all
I can say is I am so grateful to God that He doesn’t give up teaching us the
things we need to know, and He is with us step by step every day while we
learn.
Our God is such a
great God!