Reflection on Luke 12:32-40

 

“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.

When inviting the pastor into his home to talk, the man wanted to be clear that he was not 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, inviting the pastor to take a seat in the living room.

“What do you do when you feel that way pastor?” the man asked honestly.

To that question, the pastor suddenly stood up again, reached into his pocket, dug something out, and smacked it down on the coffee 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 is 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 have come to realize that most of us understand this phrase backwards. I have even heard it spoken backwards from the pulpit.

Most of us understand Jesus’ words here as meaning: “We put our money in the thing that is most special to us.”

But New Testament scholar Mark Allen Powell points out that Jesus is not saying that at all. Jesus is actually saying that the things or people in which we invest our money captures a little bit of our heart and devotion. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

Advertisers understand this very well.  They know that if they can get us to spend a little of our money, we also put a little of our heart into that investment.  They rely on this truth of the human condition to make their living.

Take smart phones for an example. I have 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 face identification to access the phone; that way you do not have to type 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 3D photography and 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, Velveeta vs. Cheddar, Star Wars vs. Star Trek, Pixar vs. Sony, salt vs. pepper, cat vs. dog…do not even get people started on the cat vs. dog one…each time advertisers get us to invest our money or time in something, we also invest our heart in their product rather than another.

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.

Leaders will try to get you to do the same.  They will do everything in their power to get your loyalty, because once they have a little bit of your loyalty, they know that they have a hold of your heart.  And once they have a hold of your heart, it is amazing the sorts of things that they can convince you to do or believe.  And, we fall for it again and again, because no one wants to admit that they may have had their heart trapped in the wrong place. 

That is how treasures work. What you value as 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.  And, that is how we lose connection with others people (friends, children, etc). We invest in people and things that steal our hearts. That is how we lose connection with God.  We invest in people or things that steal our hearts.

What if you decided to give away all the treasure that competes with God and all that God desires for the world?  What if you decided to put that false treasure, those false Gods, those false hopes, that false sense of security aside so that you can invest once again in God and God alone? 

Today, through the Holy Scriptures, Jesus is leading you to think along such lines.  Jesus tells us, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

There is this strong promise here that when you invest in God, your heart will latch on also.  And when you allow God to latch onto you, you will be brought into the glories of God’s kingdom.

Have you ever stopped to consider: “Where does God spend God’s resources?” Well, let us look at the scriptures and see.

In the beginning, God made a peaceful space in the chaos for us, the gem of God’s creation.  God invests in us.

In Jesus, God chooses to spend time with us; especially when we are poor; especially when we struggle; and especially when we are trapped in sin.  God invests in us.

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 an earthly leader? 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, of course" 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. Buy a child’s school lunch. Spend it the way that the Lord would spend it.”

You see, the pastor understands from his own experience that when we feel separated from God, it may be because we are no longer participating in God’s activities.  It may be because we have forgotten, as the Bible says, to “be dressed for action” and have forgotten to “have our lamps lit.” 

What if, rather than being distracted by all of those things which capture our hearts and our attention, we dressed with the righteousness of God and lit our lamps, ready for the Lord to arrive?  What if we started taking part and investing in all that the Lord cares about?  Maybe, just maybe, we would discover once again that the Lord has opened the door, has arrived home, and has taken a place at the table in our presence.  Maybe, we would discover that the Lord has, once again, drawn our hearts near to the Lord’s heart?

‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,’ Jesus says.

Before pulling out his keys, the pastor finished by saying, “Invest some of your treasure in God. Just maybe your heart will follow and you will not 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.