Put Your Money in an Imperishable Bank Account

Solomon, king of Israel, was famed for his wisdom. Thousands posed to him the most difficult questions, and even kings and queens—most notably, the Queen of Sheba—traveled from miles away to hear him speak.

Solomon also had over 700 wives and 300 concubines, and ended up worshiping false gods later in his life. 

Napoleon Bonaparte swept over Europe with his armies at an astonishing speed shortly following the French Revolution. He was crowned emperor. The countries that were still unconquered lived in fear that his conquest would turn to them next, and it seemed like France would rule the majority of the civilized world.

And then he was defeated. Twice. And he was exiled to a little island in the middle of nowhere. 

In the 1920s, the American economy was booming. Spirits were high after the end of the Great War, and many were caught up in the festive mood. The stock market kept climbing, and there was no better time to invest then now. 

And then the stock market crashed, and countless fortunes were lost, kicking off the Great Depression.

 

Perishable Things

Jeremiah 9:23–24 says, 'Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”'

Wisdom doesn't last. Might is hard to depend on. And riches can be lost overnight, for countless different reasons that are impossible to control.

The things of this world are perishable, and that category includes more than we think. It includes wisdom, might, and riches—but also beauty, comfort, and even the relationships that we build with our friends and loved ones.

Don't get me wrong: these things aren't necessarily bad. Wisdom is wonderful— there are a whole books of the Bible dedicated to it! Relationships are a gift, and God gives power to our leaders for a reason.

But they're still perishable. They don't last.

Christians living in this world need to have a long-term focus, a focus on eternity. Focusing on perishable things as a mistake, and a really easy one to make.

It's like spending all your high school or college years killing time on video games instead of preparing for the future, only to become an adult and suddenly realize you need a job to pay for dinner tomorrow. 

You might lose everything in this life—but even if you don't, there's no chance at all that you'll be able to take it into the next one. Luke 12 tells the story of a rich man taking early retirement, and it contains a sobering message: you don't know the future, and your personal plans don't guarantee a thing.

'And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”' (Luke 12:16–21)

Things are perishable. Reputation is perishable. Beauty is perishable. Love is perishable—earthly love, anyway.

What isn't?

 

Treasure in Heaven

Matthew 6:19–21 says, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Treasure in heaven is imperishable. No one can take it from you, and nothing can destroy it.

In short, it's the perfect bank account!

Focusing on treasure in heaven instead of treasure on earth is wise, and it's the best thing we can do with our limited time on earth. It's the best way to steward the talents that God has given us.

Treasure in heaven doesn't always benefit us on earth.

This might seem obvious, but it's worth mentioning anyway.

Earlier in Matthew 6, Jesus contrasts the public Pharisaical prayers intended to earn worldly praise with the real, private prayers that nobody sees but God—when we lay up treasure in heaven, nobody around us knows it.

It's very hard to persevere and doing good when it feels like nobody cares. We crave admiration and respect from the people that surround us—without it, we feel like we're on the wrong path, and that we need to change. 

And if nobody knows or compliments what we're doing? We feel like we're missing out on life. 

But remembering that our labor is not in vain should help us to persevere. Because God sees everything we do, and the purpose of our work is to glorify him, and him alone.

 

Knowledge of God is a kind of treasure.

There's one part of Jeremiah 9:23–24 that we didn't discuss earlier: "but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth."

The only thing that we can boast about is our knowledge of God. Our relationship with Jesus.

The passage had just listed examples of worldly treasure, and now it's telling us what one kind of heavenly treasure is. Our relationship with God is not perishable—God's covenants are eternal, and he's made a covenant with each and every one of his children never to abandon them.

 

Heavenly treasure makes us long for the world to come.

"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21)

Our greater award is still yet to come. If we lay up treasures in heaven, we won't see a reward yet.

So we long all the more for the day when Jesus comes back, and when everything sad comes untrue, and when the day of rest never ceases.

Let's not settle for the false comfort this world offers. No earthly pleasure will ever satisfy our deeper longings.

But one day serving in heaven will be better than a thousand days ruling the richest nation on earth.