Are you storing up treasures on earth?

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”—Luke 12:34 (NIV).

“I had to have it.”

This statement made by a 50-year-old man in a recent newspaper article, and the accompanying photo, drew my attention. I’m a headline skimmer. This one definitely intrigued me. What did this man have to have that made news?

I shook my head in disbelief when I read the story. This man had gifted himself with a flamethrower for Christmas. He stated, “It’s a Christmas gift from me to me. I saw it and knew I had to have it.”

Although he admits it wasn’t something he’d ever wanted, he saw the flamethrower on the internet and decided “I needed one of those.”

This man has no wife or children. He said, “So if I want it, why not?”

My thoughts turned to the Bible story of the rich, young ruler. In Mark 10:17-27, we read the following:

As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.”

Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.”

I wondered what Jesus would say to the man who wasted money on a flamethrower, bought for fun and for no other reason than he “had to have it.”

How would the owner of this flamethrower react if Jesus told him to sell all of his possessions and give to the poor? I’m trying hard not to judge this man. I, too, have spent money frivolously.

As my relationship with Jesus has grown, so has my desire to please Him. While I try to spend my money wisely, I sometimes have buyer’s regret after purchasing an item I wanted but really didn’t need. I’m getting better at it, but I still have a long way to go.

Author Randy Alcorn says, “Many Christians dread the thought of leaving this world. Why? Because so many have stored up their treasures on earth, not in heaven. Each day brings us closer to death. If your treasures are on earth that means each day brings you closer to losing your treasures.”

Is storing up treasures on earth a problem for you? How can you begin today to let go of your wants and be satisfied with what you already have?