How many closets do you have in your home? How many downstairs closets? How many upstairs closets? Do you have in addition some attic storage? Do you have basement storage? 

In our first parsonage home in 1964 we moved into a turn-of-the-century home. There were no closets on the first floor. We had a clothes tree for hanging coats. There were two closets upstairs, but both of them were so narrow that a coat hanger wouldn’t even fit in them sideways. There was absolutely no attic storage, and the basement had a dirt floor. 

Today, our first-floor town home has two walk-in closets plus a large attic storage area above the garage. 

The simple truth is this: in 1900 people did not own very much. Storage wasn’t needed. Today we gauge a home by the amount of storage available. How many closets does the home have? Plus we have storage sheds in the back yard. You can see them liberally displayed in most home and garden centers. Plus we rent space for unused stuff. Commercial rentable space is a growth industry right now. And we must note that much of this space is for storing stuff we aren’t using. 

Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” 

Someone wrote a letter to Ann Landers a few years ago. The letter said, “Dear Ann: I’ve got to decide between a new car and getting engaged. I love the girl. But every night when I go to sleep, I dream about the car. What should I do?” 

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” 

I entitled this 2005 Lenten series “Cabinet Level Christian Living.” The next two items get the most specific attention in Scripture—what I call the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Justice. God takes very seriously how we relate to our possessions, and how we exercise justice. Both of these are deeply rooted in the heart of God. 

First, the Department of the Treasury. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” This text asks me certain questions. 

WHERE DOES REAL PROSPERITY LIE? 

First of all, I am asked the question as to where real prosperity lies. God wants us to be rich, but not in the usual way. One can be materially rich and know God’s prosperity. But Scripture informs us that it’s not easy. That’s why Jesus said with a smile one day, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.” 

A minister called for the offering one Sunday morning with these words: “I would like to remind you that what you are about to give is tax deductible, cannot be taken with you, and is considered by some to be the root of all evil.” 

Or there’s the story of the wealthy man who was dying and who said to his wife, “Dear, when I die I want you to put all of my money in the casket and bury it with me.” The wife said, “I’ll be glad to do that, dear.” 

The man died and his children asked their mother, “Did you put all of his money in the casket?” She said, “I sure did.” Came the children’s reply, “Mom, why did you do that?” With a wry smile she said, “I wrote him a check.” 

What constitutes prosperity? Something much more valuable than money. But it’s not easy to believe that in today’s world. Someone defines advertising as “Pressure to buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have from people we don’t know.” 

We almost want to believe the bumper sticker that says, “The person who dies with the most toys wins.” 

Listen to these words from William Robert McClelland:

The Bible stands there as stubborn as a rock, and every time we open it to read, we stub our toe on its assumption that all the resources of our lives come from God… God has loaned them to us in trust. We are stewards of these gifts of grace, and we are to use them whenever and however the Spirit indicates.[i] 

Prosperity has a whole new dimension in the Christian vocabulary. 

AM I STORING UP POSSESSIONS OR TREASURES? 

There’s a cartoon showing a couple having an argument over extravagant spending. The husband says, “How many times do I have to tell you that it’s economically unsound to spend money before you get it?” The wife replies, “Oh, I don’t know about that. This way, if you don’t get the money, at least you have something to show for it.” 

My father used to quote Jesus often: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth.” That quote still rings in my ear as a fundamental truth. 

Each year Forbes Magazine publishes the names of the 400 wealthiest Americans. Again in 2004, Bill Gates (no surprise) topped the list. But I have a sense that something significant has happened to Bill Gates recently. I have no indication that he is or is not a particularly religious man. Yet his net worth has decreased dramatically over the past two years. Why? Sure, his stock has declined, or at least it has remained flat. But there’s much more. 

Bill Gates has given away about one half of his total holdings. In 2004 he gave away 37% of his holdings. 

Is Bill Gates discovering “treasure” that is more important than possessions? He may be an unusual example. But are his core values changing? 

Back before the great depression a man gave a huge endowment to build a college. During the following years he lost all of his wealth, as many people did. The 1950s found this man alone in a modest home, now retired, but being honored for his original gift. When he visited the campus, the president said to him, “Look around at what your gift has meant.” The man responded with some telling words. He said, “Yes, the only thing I have is what I gave away.” 

Am I storing up treasure or possessions? 

And it’s not always about money. I think of Jimmy Carter, who has given most of the years since 1980 to Habitat for Humanity. He and his wife still lead several teams every year. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” 

ARE YOU THRIVING OR SURVIVING? 

A third question haunts me. Am I thriving or surviving? An interesting statistic is emerging as America continues to prosper. As family size decreases, the size of our homes increases. Empty nesters are building and buying larger and larger nests. It’s a symbol of our thriving. 

Or there’s the passion for the entertainment and leisure in our culture. Philip Yancey makes this telling statement:

I worry about my own society, which relies mainly on its wealth and power and fills every vacant space with entertainment options.[ii] 

Clement of Alexandria was one of the ancient church fathers. You probably would not know this name unless you went to seminary and studied some of these writings. Clement said that there was a certain similarity between our eternal “souls” and the “soles” of our feet. He said just as each person has a different “sole” size, so we have different “soul” size. And then he said this:

Possessions must fit the person—they will be cumbersome and uncomfortable if too large; painful if pinched. 

What Clement was pointing out is that Christianity is not a “one size fits all” spirituality. 

Is your soul thriving? Or are you uncomfortable? Are you only surviving? 

HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY WANT

“TREASURES IN HEAVEN”? 

A fourth question comes to mind as well. How much do I really want treasures in heaven? How much do I want that right now? Most of us would gladly receive heaven when we die. But do we want heavenly treasure now? Jesus simply turns the world’s value system on its ear. 

A colleague tells the story of a very wealthy friend. He said, “This man is perhaps the wealthiest man I know. He has a large home and several nice cars.” 

Shortly after a Palm Sunday service my friend visited this man. The two began to discuss the Christian faith. The man spoke of his Palm Sunday frond. He said, “I still have it in my closet. Come and see.” When the pastor visited the man’s closet, he looked in and saw only three pairs of shoes—one pair of dress shoes, one pair of slippers, and one other pair. “Surely you have more shoes than this,” he said. The man responded with these words, “I can only wear one pair of shoes at a time, and this is all I need. I am trying to figure out how to shape the rest of my life around that understanding.” Here was a man who was trying to develop the meaning of “treasure in heaven.” 

Jesus, you see, was a realist. He wanted people to do something in order to be changed. You and I need to do something before we can be changed. Maybe it means fewer pairs of shoes. Maybe it means building for Habitat for Humanity. Maybe it means giving away some large asset. It may even mean something very small. But the symbolic significance can make a real difference. 

Some say there is a financial crisis in American churches today. If so, it is a spiritual crisis, not a money crisis. 

One of the “movers and shakers” of Columbus, Ohio has a long time friendship with his pastor. One day the pastor was in this man’s office. The man looked out the corner window in his office and spoke: “Barry, you know I’ve kind of got it figured out. The Big Guy is going to ask us two questions when we get to the gate. I am serious now, I really mean this. First he’s going to ask, “What did you do with what I gave you?” And then he’s going to ask, “Whom did you do it for?” 

The Department of the Treasury. Cabinet Level Christian Living. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”