'For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.' Matt 6:21
We spend an inordinate amount of time and expenses in search of possessions, physical beauty and pleasures. This materialistic, modern society places a high premium on treasured possessions as signs of success. But to store up treasures on earth is not the smart thing to do, they cannot last. The forces of nature and society will corrupt, deplete and devalue these things.
Jesus taught, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matt 6:20
Tevye, the dairy man in the musical 'The Fiddler on the Roof', dreamt of elusive wealth. Singing 'If I were a Rich Man' he thought of many things he could do with wealth and ended his song with the unforgettable question 'Would it spoil some vast eternal plan, if I were a wealthy man?'
The Bible warns that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim 6:10) Indeed Jesus says "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money" Matthew 6:24.
What can money buy? Recently a Singaporean buyer bought a digital artwork, 'Everydays: The First 5000 Days for a princely sum of USD$70 million'. In 1958, a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci 'Salvator Mundi' was bought for USD$60. In 2017, that same painting was sold for USD$450 million, the most expensive painting in the world.
It seems that wilful blindness are at play in the price of things. Oscar Wilde said, "Nowadays people know price of everything and the value of nothing."
What is the value of things? Jesus spoke of two individuals. The first person was an explorer who searched for treasure concealed in a field. He discovered it and then pulled together everything he owned to buy the field so that he could possess the treasure. The second person was a businessman who was on a lookout for priceless pearls. He found this one exquisite pearl of incredible value and sold all his fortune in order to buy this one pearl. These two gentlemen had clarity of the bargain. They found treasures, they thought, that had priceless value and lasting worth, acquired them without so much as batting an eyelid.
What was Christ teaching in the stories of these two treasure hunters? Jesus was reminding His listeners to look for real value in life. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God," He proclaimed. Bishop Robert Solomon wrote that this will mean an internal reorganisation in us, unsettling our worldly priorities and steering us towards the perspectives and priorities of the heavenly kingdom. (Ref 1)
What is our pearl of great price? I found that pearl when I was only a teenager. I found Jesus and since then, Jesus is all the world to me.
Jesus is all the world to me
My life, my joy, my all
He is my strength from day to day
Without Him I would fall
When I am sad, to Him I go
No other one can cheer me so
When I am sad, He makes me glad
He's my friend
Jesus is all the world to me
My friend in trials sore
I go to Him for blessings and
He gives them o'er and o'er
He sends the sunshine and the rain
He send the harvest golden grain
Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain
He's my friend.
Jesus is all the world to me,
And true to Him I'll be
Oh how could I this friend deny
When He's so true to me
Following Him I know I'm right
He watches o'er me day and night
Following Him I know I'm right
He's my friend
Jesus is all the world to me,
I want no better friend
I trust Him now; I'll trust Him when
Life's fleeting days shall end
Beautiful life with such a friend
Beautiful life that has no end
Eternal life, eternal joy
He's my friend
Marc Chagall painted the 'Fiddler on the Roof.' This fiddler opens and closes the musical of the same title with a haunting melody, standing in a precarious position on the roof, a metaphor of the uncertainty of this world. Indeed, contrary to expectations the treasures of this world do not bring stability; only the same precariousness as fiddling on the roof
So, let us find our lasting treasure - Jesus Christ, all the world to us!
Lionel
Ref 1: Robert M Solomon, Spiritual Disciplines for Urban Christians. Genesis Books, 2021
