TRASH and TREASURE

Week thirty-six, 2017

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Matthew 6:21

Recently my bride and I took a day trip to visit one of the biggest flea markets in our state. It was a sight to behold. There were hundreds of bays and booths displaying about everything one could imagine.

Most of it looked like junk to me, but sales were brisk. One man said he collected whatever he was buying at the time and said that even though it looked like junk, it really added value to a collection. Dolls, model trains, fountain pens, fidgets…. You name it someone was selling and another was purchasing. It all still looked like junk to me, but if you know what you are doing, you can see value. Some collector buffs were waiting in line at six o’clock in the morning to make sure that someone didn’t beat them to the items they cherished.

As I watched the process I thought of that old cliché that says, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” Jesus reminds us that where our treasure is there will be our heart also.

In the kingdom of Satan, the souls of men are only merchandise. Yet that is contrasted with the text in Matthew, which is describing the kingdom of heaven. The story illustrates God’s perspective of mankind. To Him, the souls of men are a treasure! There are two waiting to purchase your soul…. God and Satan.

What is your price? How much are you worth? What value do you place on your soul? More importantly, would you rather be viewed as merchandise or a treasure? Exploited or loved? To whom will you sell your soul?

Merchandise is something that is used only for personal benefit. A man’s sole attraction to his merchandise is the wealth it can bring. Satan is not interested much in this worlds goods. He doesn’t care much about vacation homes, used cars, real estate, stocks and bonds… He deals only in life’s most precious commodity… the Souls of Men. The devil invests very little in anyone! And yet, what a high price you will pay when he’s through with you!

Our world basks in a false sense of self-worth. Most consider themselves well paid for the state of their soul. But each day many awaken to find themselves discarded like merchandise. Having profited Satan’s kingdom enough – they find themselves thrown aside like an old rag, while the world moves on to bigger and better things, a better deal.

Satan is not interested much in this worlds goods. He doesn’t care much about vacation homes, used cars, real estate, stocks and bonds… He deals only in life’s most precious commodity… the Souls of Men. The devil invests very little in anyone! And yet, what a high price you will pay when he’s through with you! Currently our world basks in a false sense of self-worth.

We see the results of Satan’s wheeling and dealing all around us. But regardless of what the god of this world offers you, it is not enough! The devil never sacrifices very much to get what he wants… but you will lose it all when you pass through his hands!

What is your treasure? Is it something you will some day end up sold for junk at a flea market? Put your treasure in Jesus and you will have more true wealth than anything in this world that money can buy.

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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

 ©2017 John Grant | Florida State Senator (Ret.) | 10025 Orange Grove Drive | Tampa, FL 33618