20 Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, 21 saying: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh.
Job 1:20-21 HCSB
If you notice, Job said something powerful and insightful. He said that everything we gain in this life when we die will remain on this side of the world and will not go to the other with us. Jesus also confirmed the same concept in Matthew 6.
19 “Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. -Matthew 6:19-21
The material things that you work for in this life can even be taken away while you are still here. How much more when you die. When you are living for Jesus, you are accumulating for yourself treasures in heaven. In heaven, no one can take them from you and will be there when you get there.
Are you working for the temporal things of this life? Or, are you working for eternal rewards?
I would like to share with you a different point of view with an illustration of what it looks like when you only work for the temporal things of this life.
There is a store that has the best things one can have. It has the best shoes for men and women, the best clothes, food, and everything in between. The prices are reasonable for all the items you wish to acquire. But there’s a disclaimer. More on that later. You go into the store and are wowed by its size and with all the merchandise it carries. You can buy anything your heart desires. You open up your wallet, and you start buying with your eyes, meaning you get things you don’t even need, but because of greed, you purchased them. You grab a cart that can fit as much as your wallet can get you. After leaving the checkout with a big smile on your face, right before you exit the building, a security guard stops you. He tells you that you cannot take any of the items with you. With a very puzzled face, you ask him why? I purchased all of this with my money.
Here comes the disclaimer which I mentioned earlier. The security guard tells him that he can enjoy everything he bought, as much as he likes, in the store. But after that, he must leave all of them at the store.
Would you waste all of your money on items that you cannot take with you after you die? That is what Scripture is saying. No one in their right mind will buy things that they cannot bring home afterward. Why will you do the same in this life? When you work hard for a house, car, job, shoes, clothes, and many other things, but after you die, you can’t take anything to your eternal dwelling, why work hard for those things?
Jesus said to work hard for the treasures in heaven, so when you go to your eternal home, they will be there waiting for you. You will have them forever.
Live a life that pleases God by working for His glory. How do you do that? Read the Scriptures, pray, and tell people about Jesus. Help those who are in need when the opportunity arises. Show people Christ in you. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Spiritual Minefield 