The Land of Thieves

I had a quite hilarious interaction with a co-worker in which someone pointed out a hole in his sweater. His immediate comment was "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy." We all laughed at his comment because it was not at all what we expected to hear. What we expected was what he later said, "This sweater is from college... or maybe high school."

When I think about the passage he quoted from in Matthew 6 I usually think about just the part he quoted, the moth and rust. Rarely do I think about the thieves. Moths and rust I know but thieves? Nada.

The closets in my grandparents' house had a distinct smell. I remember one visit opening the closet in my mom's childhood room to find a painting. Instead I was greeted rather boldly with a fragrance I had never smelled before nor would I ever forget. I asked my mom about it later and she told me about the moth balls. You see there were some "precious" items of clothing in that closet that my grandparents didn't want to be eaten by moths. Nothing was destroyed but there was something they didn't want destroyed. I didn't understand it but now I know about it.

Rust was the stuff that would prevent me from leaving my bike outside over night or let me weasel out of cleaning the bathroom. I guess I liked my bike and a working bathroom.

It wasn't until my car got broken into that I began to truly understand the imagery of this verse. A would-be thief smashed one of my windows and did some damage to the inside of my car. My first reaction was, "I'm pretty sure they stole my stereo," quickly followed by, "I probably should call my dad."

Turns out, nothing was stolen. I had a heart check though. For me, honestly, it wasn't as much about if anything was stolen but that my stuff was broken into, it was destroyed. I am so thankful for the friends who carried me around to church and work and the car shop until it was all taken care of. It was such a beautiful and tangible picture of the body of Christ!

What do you treasure most? Where do you put your money? What about your energy?

Matthew 6:19-21
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."