Treasures on Earth...

The Rich Young Man
Matthew 19:16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
18 "Which ones?" the man inquired.
Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19honor your father and mother,and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'
20 "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Treasures in Heaven
Matthew 6:19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 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 well over a year now, I have been writing about the simple life and how "things", "stuff" takes away from the simple life and causes stress in the maintaining them and buying them. Part of the reason I hold this way of life so dear is that for me personally, its a moral issue. I myself, cannot maintain a close walk with God and "Stuff" at the same time. I loose focus. I fall into a trap of ownership.
Possessions, "things" are so often sought in selfishness. Money spent on stuff that eventually gets stuffed in a closet or stored in the garage, attic and now the ever popular storage building.
More stuff then we could ever use, money spent on treasures that will rot and rust, while our fellow man goes hungry, naked and children starve all over the world. I wonder if Christ would ever live like so many of us do, yet we sit in church week after week or read our bibles and don't get the real message. Acquiring treasures on earth should never be the focus of a Christian. Look only to the two examples from the Bible that I am sharing.
I have the unusual opportunity to observe first hand the transformation of a people, once plain and humble now tossed in the center of financial gain. As an outsider, I can watch objectively and with eyes open. A group once focused on community, simple living, living for the benefit of others. They were examples of living true Christianity. I am sure they are unaware of their own changes.
Things, "treasure seeking" has entered the picture.
New homes, big and fancy. Cars and trucks that would never been called humble and purely serviceable. New ones often acquired as tastes change, not because of wear or age. A once peace loving people, seeking to harm no one and practice faithfully the "turn the other cheek" belief, now buying hand guns and hunting rifles. Hunting not for food, but sport. Taking the life of an animal for sport is very different than taking it for the need of food for the family. A thrill in the death of an innocent animal seems so morally wrong. One should drop to ones knees and thank God for the nourishment of an animal killed for food. For spot, what could you pray ? No longer are the men's clothes home made or sought in thrift shops, but purchased at high prices, labels meaning something to them. On line shopping and malls are no longer unheard of.
Rooms filling up with things, collections, treasures. Fancy gadgets, fine china.
Money is robbing them of their connection to simplicity. Stealing from them the very thing that kept them living with the mind of Christ as the motivation for every deed for so many generations.
It's teaching me so much to observe these changes. Its making me aware of the areas I need to watch and guard within my own life. Catching myself as I make "stuff" important to me. Wanting two lamps when I need only one. Dreaming of a room that looks like the one in the magazine. That sort of thing.
I did some blog hopping today and read a few blogs that spoke of cleaning out things and making their lives more simple by lessening the amount of stuff in their homes. I was thrilled to see this.
Things bind us to their care. To moving them, washing them, folding them, dusting them, worry about them being stolen or broken, and at the same time taking money that perhaps could be used to end the suffering of a fellow human.

If Christ walked into your home today and asked you to follow Him, would you have to think about leaving your things, your stuff ? Of course I am not talking family etc, but material items. Seems the rich young ruler had something in common with many of us today. In the simple life, there is little to hold one back from doing the biddings of Christ, to love one another.
It sort of reminds me of a teacher I had once, she said we could chew gum in class provided we gave every student in the class a piece too.

A simple pile of kindling, covered in a dusting of snow. Beauty in simplicity