“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21
My American accent often leads people to ask me where I’m from.
When I explain that I’m from California, the usual response is, “What are you doing in Cyprus?”
That question is usually prompted by a typical conception of America as the land of prosperity and freedom; ‘the American dream’. And of all the States in the USA, California ranks high on the list of iconic places to live. The warm climate, sprawling coastland are famous world over. Thus the understandable question, “Why leave California for Cyprus?”
In California you can enjoy the Pacific ocean, the Mojave desert or the Sierra Nevada Mountains. All these things and more have drawn people from all over the world to make California their home. Couple its beautiful climate with the fact that it is an entertainment, tech and recreational capitol of the world, it is inevitable that it has drawn the rich and poor, the famous and infamous.
The California coastland is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the world. In Los Angeles county for example, according to statistics, the average coastal home is valued at 1.2 million dollars. That’s just the average!
Buying land or building a home in this area isn’t just an investment, it is a statement. Saying you live in Santa Monica, Malibu or Redondo Beach is the same as saying your living among the most wealthy of the world. According to statistics, you would be “in the 99th percentile of global income and wealth distribution”.
For most people, with such status comes the assumption that happiness, satisfaction and security follow naturally. No doubt, if we were to interview people who call such places home, they would be able to boast of level of living that few in the world could. It is believed that contentment follows wealth and affluence, like the number 2 follows the number 1.
But the recent wildfires in California, which still burn as I write, have tested, once again, the substance of these assertions.
Already, these fires are being called the third worst in California history. Over 40 thousand arces have been consumed. 27 dead. 12 thousand homes and buildings have been destroyed. 100,000 people displaced. It is estimated to have cost the state of California $150 billion so far. Up to 75% of Pacific Palisades, one of the most affluent neighborhood of Santa Monica, has been largley reduced to ashes.
One of the greatest contributers to the fires destructive power was its speed. The combination of dry climate, years of low rain fall, abundance of fuel and relentless Santa Ana winds, were a recipe for disaster.
The realities facing all those affected by the destruction are heartbreaking. Lives lost tragically and suddenly. Decades and decades of history gone up in smoke in a matter of days.
These kind of thing raises the ever nagging question that if the most wealthy and affluencial can’t ensure the security of their lives and possessions, then who can?
This is precisely one of the principles behind Jesus’ statement in the Gospel of Matthew 6:19-21. He says there “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Here Jesus compares earthly, temporary treasures with heavenly, eternal ones. In making this statement, Jesus communicates many biblical truths. It teaches us that Heaven is real, eternal life is real, the Kingdom of God is real. It teaches that Jesus is King, and he wants us in His Kingdom.
He knows that our pursuit of earthly riches has the potential of keeping us from Him and from His kingdom. He warns us of the foolishness of investing too much in this world, which is temporal and often unpredictable in nature. The very ground we stand on is not guaranteed tomorrow.
Yes, as Jesus said ‘moths, rust, and thieves’ are a few of the threats to earthly treasures, but floods, winds, earthquakes, tsunamis and fires are among others.
Jesus warned us; to place all our hopes on ‘earthly treasures’ is dangerous. Not only are we incapable of ensuring their survival, but it has the greater danger of blinding us to our ability and need to ‘store for yourselves treasures in heaven’.
So, what of us? Where are we storing our treasures?
People often marvel that someone from California would willfully choose to live in Cyprus. But to me it’s not such a huge step to take. Many people love Cyprus for the same reasons people love California. The combination of sea, sun and culture make it a natural choice for anyone looking for ‘the good life’.
I believe that is why, when I watched the wildfires ravage California so impartially, I was reminded of how fragile our ‘good life’ is here in Cyprus.
Like California, not only do we share the wealth of natural resources; sun, sea and mountains, we also have the same ingredients they do for disaster. Those same fires that systematically leveled parts of LA, could very well be duplicated here.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to exploit anyone’s fear, but I am appealing to facts, in hopes it will produce faith. We cannot predict what the future holds. While we’ve had our fair share of fires in Cyprus, God-willing, we will never see the magnitude of devastation that we’ve witnessed recently in California.
But history testifies that our earthly treasures are just as much at risk as theirs were. Are all your “treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and thieves break in and steal”? Where fires reduce to ashes and earthquakes to rubble?
Or, are you storing up your treasures in Heaven, where nothing that happens here on earth can touch them?
Jesus doesn’t condemn storing up treasures. He just wants us to store them in the right place. Storing our treasures in heaven begins by giving our hearts to Him, by receiving Him as our Saviour. As Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Confess and repent of your sins. Trust in Him as Saviour. Bow your knee and proclaim Him King over your life. As the scriptures say, “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” As we do, He will fill us with His Spirit, empowering us to live a new life. He will make us citizens of heaven.
We can begin storing our treasures in heaven by loving Him, by loving others. As Jesus said “…you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart… and…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.””
Then, no matter what tomorrow may hold, we know our real wealth is safe in heaven, and that ‘the good life’ we so desperately long has been found in Jesus.
By Pastor Tim Mattox
Paphos Calvary Chapel
www.calvarycyprus.com
