Going on a Treasure Hunt

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

If I had to make a list of my top 5 treasures, what would make the cut? If I had to show you my most recent bank statement, what would the way I spend money tell you about my priorities? If you were to look at the month of April in my day timer, what would it reveal about how I spend my time? If God came to me right now and asked for an account of how I’d invested the spiritual gifts He’s given me, what would I have to show Him? Those are convicting questions. There are some areas I struggle with more than others, but overall, how I spend the commodities of time, treasure and talent should allow you to easily pinpoint the things that capture my heart.

When a good thing becomes the main thing, it becomes an idol. When money becomes security, when a relationship becomes your identity, when your talent becomes your self-worth, when a hobby consumes your life, when you look to substance to comfort you, when the voice of another person drowns out the voice of the Lord, you are handing over the reins of your life to something/someone other than God. And that is dangerous. Ezekiel 14:3 says, “…these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity.” Paul tells us in Colossians 3:5 what to do with idols – and he doesn’t mince words. “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” That’s serious business. Paul’s telling us to put to death (root out of our lives) anything that rivals God in giving you your identity, comfort, security, self worth, etc. This may seem like a morbid illustration, but which would you rather do: walk around with a diseased arm that’s slowly killing you, or cut that wound out and experience health and vitality once again? A few years back, I had a form of skin cancer – melanoma – removed from my body. I hate needles and hospitals and could have forgone surgery and pretended it would have no lasting impact in my life while in all reality, the cancer was slowly making its way to my bloodstream and then it would have been too late. Instead, I subjected myself to needles and the skillful hand of a surgeon who removed it and created a “margin of safety” so I would be healed. That, in essence, is what allowing idols into our lives do to us. They make their way down into the depths of our heart where they sap our spiritual energy, peace, joy and hope and slowly kill our relationship with God and effectiveness for Him. Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” The good news is, the choice is yours. You can choose this day to ask the Surgeon of your heart to cut out the infected area of your life so that you can restore Him to the throne of your heart. And don’t miss the part about creating a “margin of safety.” Sometimes it may require you to cut out friends who are a bad influence, or certain substances that are too powerful to resist when you need comfort, or maybe your margin of safety is finding an accountability partner to make sure you’re getting up out of bed in the morning to spend time with God. Jill Briscoe, a women’s author and speaker said once, “I’d rather be sleep deprived than God deprived.” Your idol may not be sleep, but what’s depriving you of God?

1. Make a list of your top 5 treasures.
2. Evaluate each one to see if they are subject to God or if they are competing with God for any of the above mentioned areas in your life (security, identity, self worth, comfort, etc.). Be honest with yourself here. It may be painful to admit, but in the end it beats the alternative!
3. Get serious about rooting out any of your treasures that are an idol. If you’ve identified an idol, what does rooting it out of your life look like? Now confess that idol to the Lord and ask for His hand to guide you through the process. Also, who can you invite in on your journey? Find someone to hold you accountable. Accountability is incredibly effective here!