Torn Green Paper & A Perspective On Riches

     As a young child, I had a vivid imagination that would keep me and my siblings occupied for hours.  One Christmas, I received a soft, burgundy jacket with a sparkly gold lining.  (Strangely enough, I can't remember any other gift I might have gotten that year).  I just knew that this jacket was made for a princess, after all, it is a well-known fact that royalty wears burgundy and gold.  :)

    Because this jacket was so fancy, I was allowed to wear it for church.  It was sometimes cold in the building so I was able to wear it through service (sometimes it got a little warm, but I normally refused my mom's attempt to remove it saying I was still cold).

    One Wednesday night, we were sitting in church and waiting for service to start.  I had found a scrap of shiny, green paper (don’t know where), small enough to fit in my sparkly, gold lined pocket.  Sitting just right, I was able to put the pocket on the seat beside me and open it up into a wonderful, glittering cave.  Very slowly, I began to tear my green paper until I had sufficiently shredded enough for an ample pile of jeweled amethysts.

    Then one by one, and using my little finger to resemble that of an eager young explorer, I began transporting each gem painstakingly to the cave.  It took many trips to transfer the one pile to my hidden place of riches.

    In my mind, I envisioned crossing the rocky terrain, fording a river, and climbing a mountain (the whole time meandering my way across my jacket.  At last, my treasures were stored, safe from any prying eyes.

     Alas, it was not to be.  As all mothers do, mine had noticed I had become too quiet and she quickly spied my little pile of glistening jewels of torn paper.  Every mother's dread is leaving behind a pew with torn and shredded pieces of paper, tissue or otherwise, indicating she had shared her place with a nesting mouse instead of a child.

     She promptly held out her hand and confiscated every single one of my little, green jewels.  I was devastated, all the treasure I had worked so hard to gather into my golden cave of wonders... gone forever.

     How could I have even set such store on these shredded pieces paper?  As adults, we certainly don't treasure something as mundane as that.  Yet even without realizing it, we focus more on the treasures of earth than we do the treasures of heaven.  We focus on going to work, collecting a paycheck, paying the bills, raising the children, and upgrading our lifestyle.

     We get that new car that runs better than our old one, save for a new smart phone or other piece of technology.  We save for that solid gold watch, necklace, or bracelet.

    Sometimes we neglect gathering treasures to store in heaven.  While witnessing to others, we just might be planting seeds and adding another soul to the Kingdom of God.  Praying for/with a struggling brother and sister is a treasure that I really feel productive doing.  And spending a little extra time practicing an instrument for a special, or planning a Sunday School lesson can also make a big difference!

    We don’t want to be guilty of laying up meaningless treasure on earth.  No, we don’t horde green pieces of paper.  But sometimes we place too much value on our time, money, and resources when really it all belongs to God and we should be using it for His glory.  It is my prayer, that I will focus more on acquiring godly treasures, rather than attaining the praise and respect of men.

     Matthew 6:19-21   Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.