Here’s a statement for you to ponder as we begin today’s devotional thought: you either serve money or it serves you. Jesus wants to teach us that financial resources are first and foremost to serve His Kingdom. We are not slaves to money; it is a resource that enables us to partner with God as He does His work through our lives.

Do you like treasure? If you’re like most people, you do. Everybody loves treasure, and everybody has some. When I was a kid, I was really obsessed with treasure in the form of gold doubloons (think Pirates of the Caribbean) and my dream was to have a pile of them. On one occasion, my Dad invited me to go fishing with him, but I was with my Mom that weekend so I wasn’t able to go. Later on, when he was telling me about the trip, he shared with me all about a cove he had found, and then he pulled out a picture he had taken of a bunch of treasure. By this time, I was over-the-top excited and was thinking that I was about to inherit the doubloons I’d been waiting for. You can imagine how disappointed I was when I asked him where the treasure was and he told me that it was still back at the cove. In shock, I said to him, “You didn’t take it with you?” He replied,”I never thought of that. If only you’d been there.” What a deal! For years, I kept that picture; I would stare at it at night and say to the treasure, “One day I’ll find you and bring you home!”

I think part of the reason I was so interested in treasure as a child is because I used to believe that when I died, I was going to get a big pile of gold (like what was in that cove) based on my merit. I envisioned pearls, crowns and trophies for helping a lady across the street or turning the other cheek. However, as I grew up, I began to realize that this notion of Heaven was probably incorrect. After all, if the streets are paved with gold, why would I need any more? Everything there is already given in abundance, so perhaps Heavenly treasure is not for the future, but for now — something eternal that helps me in my daily life. We’ll talk more about this in the next few days, but today, be encouraged by the truth that you don’t have to wait until you die to experience Spiritual riches; they are for this life! Just like material resources, Heavenly treasure can benefit you right now and help you to navigate in this crazy world. Both physical and spiritual riches build the Kingdom of Heaven and both are available to you when you seek the Kingdom of God above all else! Isn’t that wonderful news?