Matthew 6:19-23 NLT
Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!
Last week I was thinking about a number of unanswered prayers I presented to the Lord over the years that He never got back to me on. And instead of complaining, I began to give Him the praise for not listening to me. I mean it. I can honestly recall multiple prayer request that I went to the Lord believing, hoping and expecting Him to answer that I now look back and am grateful He didn’t pay me any mind. And I’m sure I’m not the only one.
God answers our petitions according to His will, not ours. Actually, in most cases He answers us, but we refuse to take no for an answer. But I can tell you from experience that God’s “NO” has saved me a lifetime of suffering and pain. When I look back at what I was asking, I can now see the error of my ways. Too often I was seeking the glitz and glamour instead of His glory and honor. I was blinded by selfish pride, ambition, peer pressure and societal expectations. I’m so glad God cannot be charmed, persuaded or otherwise manipulated. It took a while, but I now understand the saying, ‘Everything that glitters ain’t gold!
This morning, the Word teaches us an important lesson. Jesus explains how our expectations and goals directly impact the desires of our hearts. Filling our hearts with worldly treasures dims the light in us, and makes us incomplete. In matter of fact it can completely block our ability to effectively discern Spiritual correctness.
Remember the Revelation account of Laodicea? It was a prosperous commercial center, known for banking, trading, and its affluent citizens. The city was famous for producing high-quality black wool, used in luxurious garments, they had a renowned medical school, particularly noted for developing an eye salve used to treat vision problems. However, the city relied on an aqueduct that carried lukewarm water from hot springs nearby, which influenced the "lukewarm" metaphor in Revelation 3:15-16. Laodicea is criticized for its spiritual complacency, being neither hot nor cold but "lukewarm," poor and blind, reflecting the city's reliance on its own wealth rather than spiritual fervor.
I can’t help but make a parallel between Laodicea and the United States. In many ways we are similar. We are rich and affluent, but a bit lukewarm also. Has our wealth gone to our heads? How is it we can we no longer see injustice, hatred, bigotry, racism and oppression as a serious concern for the Church? Have we also become blind? One thing is certain, no matter how much we acquire in worldly gain, everything that glitters ain’t gold!
God bless.
