“I feel
disconnected from God,” he finally said after trying for minutes to
describe his spiritual state. “It’s not that I don’t believe in God.
It is just that I don’t sense God as being that important in my life at
this point.”
It was a brutally honest statement from someone who was considering leaving the church.
In coming in to
talk to the pastor, he wanted to be clear that he wasn’t leaving the
church because of some sort of slight or disagreement. The people in
the church were just fine.
The problem
went much deeper, and in the same way that some couples just slowly lose
connection with one another over time and end up divorcing, this man
kind of felt like it was his time to separate with God. More to the
point, he felt like the separation had already happened and he just now
had mustered up the courage to tell someone.
“I’ve been
there,” said the pastor. “Many, many times I’ve been there. Imagine
having to write a sermon while feeling that way! It stinks.”
The man smiled and relaxed a little in his seat.
“What do you do when you feel that way pastor?” the man asked honestly.
To that
question, the pastor suddenly stood up, reached into his pocket, dug
something out, and smacked it down on the table. The man leaned forward
to see what it was. The familiar green of the $20 bill was revealed
upon closer inspection.
“I don’t get it. You pay God to come into your life again? Where would you even drop off the money?”
The pastor laughed. “Not quite.” Then he simply said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
You may not
know where the pastor is headed with this, but I would like to tell you
that there is some wisdom in where he’s leading this man. After-all, it
is Jesus who first tells us, “Where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also.” So it is not an ingenious invention of the pastor.
But, before we
continue, let us pause for a second because I've come to realize that
most of us understand this phrase backwards. I’ve even heard it spoken
backwards from the pulpit.
Most of us understand this as saying: “The thing that is most special to us, that is where we will put our money.”
But New
Testament scholar Mark Allen Powell points out that Jesus is not saying
that. That idea is actually backwards to what Jesus is actually saying.
How the power of money usually works, and advertisers know this very
well, is that when we spend our money, we also put a little of our heart
into that investment.
Take smart
phones for an example. I’ve known people who sing the praises of their
iPhones after they have purchased one. They love the ease of use. They
love the features such as the fingerprint identification to access the
phone; that way you don’t have to be typing in a pass code every time
you use the phone. And, iPhone users will staunchly defend the quality
of their phones in an argument against those evil and unenlightened
Android smart phone users.
Of course, Android users will similarly go on and on about their phones and the virtual reality capabilities of their phones.
It is called
brand loyalty. We use our money to buy a phone, and in return, the
company gets part of our heart…part of our loyalty. Wherever you place
your treasure, you will give away a little bit of your heart.
Whether its
Apple vs. PC, Chevy vs. Ford,. Case International vs. John Deer, Pixar
vs. Sony, salt vs. pepper, cat vs. dog…do not even get people started on
the cat vs. dog one…each time we invest our money or time in something,
we also invest some of our heart.
The thing is,
part of this investment of heart makes us blind to the realities and
shortcomings of the thing in which we have invested our money. No one
wants to be the one who spends foolishly. So we defend our choices of
iPhones and Androids, dogs and cats, and we refuse to mention the
troubles and faults in our choices. Dogs make you get up early in the
morning. Cats do not. Just saying for me that is an issue. Just
saying dog people. Just saying.
You can see
this sort of loyalty in a different way during the political season.
When people invest their money in and attention toward a particular
candidate, something amazing happens, that candidate becomes Jesus
Christ! Not literally, but all the sudden, that candidate can do
nothing wrong, even though an outside observer can see that they are
human and obviously do things wrong.
But, that is
how treasures work. Where you put your treasure, is where you your
heart ends up. Where you spend your resources of money, time, and self
is what you will end up treasuring like a gleaming gem.
This leads me to wonder, where does God spend God’s resources? Let us see.
In the beginning, God made a peaceful space in the chaos for us, the gem of God’s creation.
In Jesus, God chooses to spend time with us, especially if we are poor and trapped in sin.
In Jesus, God
chooses to pay a life for a life on the cross. God chooses to pay for
you…for us…to trade our sins for his peace. This is all done for our
benefit. God so loved Apple Corp.? No, “God so loved the world…” We
are where God spends God's resources.
The man picks up the $20, looks at it, and asks the pastor, “So, what am I supposed to do with this?”
“Spend it," the pastor replies.
“Spend it. On what?”
“Spend it on
something that the Lord cares about. Spend it on something that Jesus
would care passionately about. Spend it on the poor. Spend it on a
special Olympic athlete. Spend it on someone’s medical care. Spend it
on something that the Lord would spend it on.
You see, when we feel separated from God, it may be because we no longer participate in the same activities.
Just like
sharing rounds of golf together has actually saved some marriages,
sharing in the activities that God cares about just may provide what you
are seeking.
‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,’ Jesus says.
So, invest some of your treasure into God. Just maybe your heart will follow and you won't be so disconnected.”
If you are
reading this now, I invite you to do the same. Do you feel disconnected
with God? Take some of your gifts this week, (and I really, actually
mean it), and spend them on something that Jesus would care about.
After-all, it
is God’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Follow God's example
and share some of that kingdom of mercy, and maybe…just maybe...your own
eyes will be opened to the mercies of God in your life.
