Thought for August 12

 History:

• 1851: Isaac Singer patents sewing machine
• 1865: Joseph Lister performs first antiseptic surgery
• 1898: Protocol ending Spanish-American War signed
• 1908: First Model T built
• 1930: Clarence Birdseye awarded patent for quick freezing food
• 1953: Ann Davison is first woman to sail solo across the Atlantic
• 1988: Last Temptation of Christ released
• 1994: Baseball player's strike cancels World Series [my son and I went out on strike and have not returned]
• 1994: Stephen Breyer becomes Supreme Court Justice
• 2017: Car rams protestors at Unite the Right March in Charlottesville VA
• 2021: FDA authorizes 3rd booster for people with weak immune systems
• Born: Robert Mills [architect, Washington Monument], Katharine Lee Bates [America the Beautiful], Christy Mathewson [HOF pitcher who refused to pitch on Sundays], Cecil B DeMille, Jane Wyatt, Porter Wagoner, Buck Owens, George Soros, Parnelli Jones, Pete Sampras, 
• Died: Cleopatra, William Blake, George Stephenson [Father of Railways], Eliphalet Remington [gun maker], Thomas Chamberlain [20th Maine Gettysburg], Thomas Mann, Henry Fonda, Loretta Young, Merv Griffin, Lauren Bacall, 

Thought:

Having addressed three outward practices--alms, prayer and fasting--Jesus turns to three internal "do not's." Notice that in each case, Jesus gives a warning followed by a truth and concludes with a choice. Today, I am reading Matthew 6:19-24--greed.

• Warning: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth.
• Treasures; What do you treasure? What are the things you constantly think about, crave, envy, want? Perhaps they are things that give me pleasure, power, prestige, praise, adoration. 
• Who am I laying the treasures up for? Notice Jesus says do not lay up treasures for yourselves. Here He speaks to me about selfishness, greed, hoarding. And He convicts me for often we say we are laying up treasures for our spouses, children, grandchildren when in fact, I am laying them up for my own pleasure, protection, prestige. Lord forgive me. 
• Where am I storing these treasures? On earth. This tells me something about the type of treasures I am collecting--physical treasures, not spiritual treasures. And Jesus points out there is a problem with storing up things on earth--they are not safe.
• They decay, deteriorate, rot, rust, become obsolete, passse, out of style.
• They can be stolen or lost.
• They can lose value. Ever watch some of the antiques Roadshow programs where they revisit prior shows and show whether the item has increased or decreased in value. That which the world treasured 5 years ago is now worthless. Or this year perhaps we can all look at the stock market and see that there are no guarantees that our IRA's are growing or safe. 
• I cannot take them with me to heaven. No matter how much I have laid aside, it stays right here. 
• They become master over your life--they consume all my attention and time.
• Truth: Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. Think about the examples of Achan at Ai who kept some of the treasure or Ananias and Sapphira. There is a connection between what I treasure and where my heart is.
• Choice: You cannot serve two masters. Lay up treasures in heaven.
• They will never fade, be stolen, be lost.
• They are eternal, not temporary.
• They never lose their value.

Then Jesus turns to the eye in 6:22-24. Why? Greed begins in the eye--Eve saw that the apple was beautiful and looked like it would taste good. Sin is the lust of the eyes and lust for the flesh and pride of life. The goal is to see things as Jesus sees them--a clear eye. As I think about the Lord, He had a compassionate eye--looking with mercy and grace. He had a loving eye--mourning over the lost and struggling. He had a generous eye--He saw the poor, helpless and hopeless and moved to comfort them. Having a clear eye leads us to treasure the right things. Today Lord, help me see as You see, love as you love, and lay up treasures in heaven. Makes me read Matthew 25:31-46. Jesus knows what I treasure.

Blessings

Larry