“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.” ~ Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)

I’m a technophile. I am always looking for the newest gadget. A while back at lunch I drooled (figuratively speaking) over a fellow restaurant patron showing off a gadget that turned his phone into a projector. He caught me staring, but I didn’t care. It was cool!

When Christmas season gears up (no pun intended), we are flooded with advertisements of the newest gadgets and toys that no one can live without.

And I am tempted. I don’t need any of it, but I excel at convincing myself otherwise. The purchase might satisfy me for a while, but then what? If I die, all those gadgets will end up at a second-hand store, given away, or tossed in the trash.

We like to think we’ve evolved, but we’re no wiser than those who came before. We simply have better tools (and toys). Like those Jesus preached to in Matthew, I’m so busy collecting worldly treasures, I’m not collecting heavenly ones.

What do heavenly treasures look like, anyway?

It could be giving money we would otherwise spend on toys to more useful causes, or using our talents to glorify God more—to name a few. It boils down to what we choose focus on: the shiny stuff of this world, or God and his will.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” ~ Matthew 6:33 (ESV)