What do You Treasure Most?
What is first in your life? So many of us try to hang on to what we had when come to know Christ. I know I did. I had a job that paid a very good salary, but I was working long hours and was severely stressed out.The money was helping to pay off years of debt, keep my daughter in private school, and allowing us to do the things we liked. But the cost was just too much.
When my relationship with Christ started to grow, I was still trying to maintain my lifestyle and that relationship with God. It just wasn’t working. We went to church on Sunday and sometimes I made it to a Bible study on Wednesday, but that was it. I had far too much going on. Jesus was definitely not first in my life. It took me losing my cool in a meeting at work to see what was going on.
Parable of the Hidden Treasure
Jesus taught a lot in parables. In Matthew 13, Jesus gave the parable of the hidden treasure.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Matthew 13:44 (ESV)
The man saw the treasure and knew that it was the most valuable thing he’d ever seen or would ever see. He didn’t try to find a way to drag all of his stuff with him. Instead, he sold it all and bought the whole field. This way, he could have the one thing that mattered most.
We can look at it this way. When we find Jesus, we tend to try and hold on to our past, our old possessions, and our old desires, while trying to forge a half-hearted relationship. The reality is, Jesus is the only one that actually matters. Instead of making Him an add-on, you should make Him first in your life. A lot of your “stuff” can be distracting your from the main thing, or even bad for you. We need to get rid of it and focus on Him.
What Does This Mean to Me?
I was trying to build a relationship while maintaining my salary and my lifestyle. I was way too busy and way too stressed to even open my Bible during the week sometimes. When I was on the bus going to and from work, I listened to the Bible on my phone, but I never meditated on what I heard. There just wasn’t time. There were always other things to do. The salary was first in my life.
I had to change my perspective. Christ is the most important thing, everything else comes after. I let go of the high-salary, stress-inducing job and moved. My daughter is actually doing public school from home. It’s very interesting, but I love having her here with me. I also get to work from home.
In the year we’ve been in our new location, we’ve found a church that we both love and are active in that church. I’ve started a Bible study in my home that is associated with the church, and I’m looking into starting another one with people from the community. Things have changed so much in the two and half years that I quit the high-paying job for a lower paying one in a homeless ministry. I can’t give myself any of the credit, all of the these changes are led by God. And, it all started when I made the decision to put Christ first.