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by Bible League International,
Narrated by Artificial Intelligence,
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Scripture
“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…” – Matthew 6:19-20 ESV
Devotion
I was a high school junior in 1984. Our church had recently announced a three-day youth camp was scheduled for the following month. Naturally, I was excited. However, I knew that cost would be an issue, and I struggled with how to best present the opportunity to my parents.
Shortly thereafter, my stepdad came home and announced that he had received a cash bonus from work in response to a winning proposal. Seizing the chance, I brought the camp attendance paperwork to my parents and told them about all of the wonderful activities listed on the agenda. “How much?!” I can still see the fury in my dad’s face. “Those people are crazy! I will never spend that much sending you to camp!” I was painfully upset that I couldn’t go, and even more humiliated at his decisive rejection. I missed a deeply spiritual experience during a very impressionable period in my life.
Instead, my stepdad used the money to buy our first VCR. He proudly unboxed this marvel of modern technology, explaining how we could record television shows for later viewing. I hardly ever used the thing, perhaps because I was simply bitter that the VCR replaced my attendance at church camp.
After a three-month battle with brain cancer, my stepdad passed away in March of 2003. My brother and I shared the burden of going through his things and generally cleaning up for my mother. We were in the attic at the time, and I opened a dusty cardboard box. Under a plastic door wreath and a container of assorted nails lay that 20-year old VCR.
By now, it was nothing more than an oversized, rusty, broken hunk of garbage. Wisdom replaced my bitterness as I pondered the irony. I was still alive. I was a thinking, feeling, eternal soul who, as an adult, now had the inexpressible responsibility of raising children of my own. I wondered how improved my spiritual life would have been with the added benefit of youth camp.
My stepdad chose to ‘store up his treasures on earth’ by investing in a quickly obsolete piece electronic. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit was already a major part of my life, and I have not patterned my parenting style after this moment with my stepdad. I will always realize, however, that no tangible object is worth the priceless experiences that could lead to spiritual maturity for the next generation.
Take a moment to examine the necessity of your spending. Will it create a positive memory for your family? Think of opportunities of how you can store up your treasures in heaven.
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