Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.
This is not only a prohibition against stockpiling material wealth. As we recently saw, rewards can take many forms, including praise and recognition. But such things are perhaps even more fleeting than material wealth. The question, then, isn't about just whether we do or don't seek wealth, but rather about what we desire, and whether or not it can truly satisfy us.
Can anything on earth truly satisfy our hearts? It can, to a degree, and for a time. It can do so enough to numb some of the aching desire that is at the core of our being, at least for a while. Our lives our pulled in the direction of our what we desire most. But if we are pulled only in the direction of temporary solace we will never actually arrive at our true destination, like turn-by-turn directions that are constantly updating. There are an infinite number of options that initially seem appealing but will not satisfy us in the end. They are not harmful in themselves until we make them into something more than they are by the way that we desire them as though they could give us lasting joy.
But store up treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
There is only one option that truly has the power to satisfy every longing, and that is God himself. This does not mean turning our back on the created world, but rather loving the world for God's sake. Then we won't ask of creatures more than can possible give us. We won't seek reward from public recognition for our works of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting, when we know that the reward we have in God is far better.
The difficulty is that earthly rewards are so much more readily attainable and apparent. It's easier than ever to engage in some retail therapy with sites like Amazon now so prominent. And we can more easily signal our need for appreciation or sympathy from others using social media. We won't find our reward in God if we only look for it among the low hanging fruit. Rather, we need to actually fix our hearts on it and give it the space to draw it to ourselves. Practices such as almsgiving, prayer, and fasting actually help clear out the other debris and detritus in order to help it find room in us. But it must be an intention that we continually call to mind, almost like a mantra, if we don't want to be tricked by the things of the world.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart (see Psalm 37:4).
We tend to meditate on the things we want in this life, on our short term goals, and our worldly hopes. But it is this sort of meditation that, when excessively indulged, that can transform innocent pastimes into deceptive distractions, into precisely the sort of false treasure that can never satisfy. But it is similar meditation, albeit focused on God, that can help ensure that we stay oriented in the right direction, and motivated to seek the one who actually can give us the lasting joy we desire.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
If we look to the things of this world with our insatiable desires, with our greed, and our envy, then our eye is definitionally in darkness, since we are lost and disconnected from the big picture. But when God is in our hearts he illuminates everything. We will not succumb to the temptations to which desperation drives those without an eternal hope. We will use well the things of time for the sake of those that eternally endure. This kind of light can be so genuinely real within us that others might even take notice. They may see in our gaze an echo of that for which they long. It is not ourselves who draw them. It is the light of God himself within us that is so compelling. And this is true even before we fully possess him forever in heaven. When he is our chief desire on earth our hearts are already in some measure lifted up into his presence.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
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