Spirit or Flesh?

“EARTHLY PLEASURES OR KINGDOM TREASURES, YOU DECIDE.” “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21). A few years ago, as I was reading Jeremiah 9:23-24, the Lord spoke a word to me, a phrase which is very relevant to this passage, “Earthly pleasures or kingdom treasures, you decide.” We must make a conscious decision in our lives as to what we are going to pursue–the temporal and material satisfaction or the faith to believe what we do on earth will affect our lives eternally. We can purpose to either focus on creating wealth on earth (which will be destroyed and or stolen) or we can purpose to lay up heavenly treasures that will never be destroyed. Is this to say God will not give us wealth on earth? Of course not. The wealthiest man to ever live was Solomon, and while he asked for wisdom (which God granted), God also blessed him with incredible and incomparable wealth. Yet even he, the wisest man to ever live, when blessed with such wealth, lost his focus and fell to the temptations of this world. The point is this: our focus and our purpose on this earth truly should be upon attaining spiritual wealth. Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” When we get our priorities right, God can truly begin to work in our lives in ways we can only imagine. When I left the corporate world, I was making a lot of money, had a company car, an expense account, and all of the power that comes with it. My relationship with God was largely based on my need for and His blessing of forgiveness. Oh yes, I was serving Him; however, my time and commitment were greatly divided. When I made the choice to obey Him and to go into full-time ministry, my first position was cleaning toilets in the church; our income dropped 50 percent, the expense account and car were gone, and the only power I wielded came in the form of a toilet brush. My relationship with God suddenly became less about repentance and forgiveness and 100 percent about serving Him. By the way, did I mention in this the Lord blessed us with a savings account? We remodeled our home, purchased newer vehicles, and had a much happier life again–all on 50 percent of the income. Where is your focus? Are you wanting more of the things on earth, or are you willing to pursue the things of God? MY PRAYER Lord, I pray my focus would always be on the things of heaven and not of earth, that I might trust You to be my provision, and I might keep my vision. Amen.