There are far too many Christians who live two different lives: one on the inside, another on the outside; one Sunday morning,or Saturday morning another the rest of the week.
Such people are hypocrites, phonies, Christian liars; they live wrong lives. Why? Because they have a wrong heart. We must be very careful that our heart is clean and pure (see Psalm 51:10).
We are told in Matthew 12:34 why our heart is so important: For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. In other words, your heart affects your mouth.
Since our lives, and especially our words, are being examined by unbelievers, we must be careful to have a clean heart so that we will have clean words; and if we have clean words, then our lives will show good fruit. In other words, a good (spiritual) heart will bear good fruit.
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks (Luke 6:43-45).
Therefore, be careful that your words are clean and pure and that your actions are equally clean and pure so that the world will see that your life matches your lip.
For the one who stores treasures on Earth, death is loss, but for the one who stores treasures in Heaven, death becomes gain.
In his longest sermon, known as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says this: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal" ( Matthew 6:19-20).
Jesus commands us not to store up earthly treasures. Why? Because they're bad? No. Because they won't last!
Jesus makes absolutely clear that all earthly treasures will not last. Either they will leave you while you live, or you will leave them when you die. There are no exceptions.
Jesus tells us not to store up earthly treasures, but amazingly he instead says that we can—indeed, should—store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. It's an amazing concept that we can use our earthly (temporary) treasures in such a way as to assure ourselves heavenly (eternal) treasures.
How can you store up for yourself treasures in heaven? By investing in eternal causes instead of temporary ones—by giving to the poor instead of hording up money for yourself (see 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, and Luke 12:33). By putting your treasures into eternal causes you secure for yourself treasures that can never be lost.
Proverbs 23:5 says, Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Next time you buy something you really care about, imagine it sprouting wings and flying off. That will help you keep an eternal perspective, remembering that every earthly treasure is temporary.
When you die, you will lose every treasure that you have stored up on Earth, but when you die, you will also receive every treasure that you have stored up in heaven. In that way, death is a loss for the one who stores up treasures on Earth, but death is a gain for the one who stores up treasures in Heaven.
See Ya Soon,
May God bless you today and forever!
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