Today’s first reading is one of those stories that they make movies from. A wicked queen kills off the royal family, but they secret away young Joash, the rightful heir to the throne. Years later they bring out the rightful king, and the wicked queen gets hers. Check it out! In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus tells us to “store up treasures in heaven.”
“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” There’s an old saying…If you look at a person’s checkbook, you’ll see where their heart is. While that may be true, trust me when I tell you that my heart is not with the electric company, the gas station or the many other places that get my money each month. But it is a good thing to evaluate our finances every now and again and see if we are doing God’s work with our treasure.
“But store up treasures in heaven.” What does this really mean? I think it goes WAY beyond money. I believe that each time we do an act of kindness for another, we store up treasures in heaven. Every time we put aside our own selfish desires and put someone before ourselves, we store up treasures in heaven. If our treasure is spent only on the stuff of the world, that’s where our heart will stay. But when we put our treasure into things of heaven (love, kindness, service), our hearts will soar heavenward.
Father, show us how we can store up treasures in heaven. Help us to lose our materialism, and concentrate on serving others. Amen.
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