Do you ever find yourself worrying too much?
It could be family. It could be finances or your health. If there was an area that I would be more likely to worry about, it’s my children. To avoid worrying about them, I must find myself in a constant state of prayer for them.
On any given day, I take my children to school, and nearly every single day as I drive away, I privately say a prayer that often goes something like, “God, they are in your hands, and I commit them to you. I trust you to care for them and to protect them.”
There’s a verse that comes to mind for me that sounds familiar:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:21
This portion of scripture is found right in the middle of a larger section of scripture that is known as “The Sermon on the Mount,” which can be found in the book of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7.
For my wife and I, and I am sure for parents everywhere, our children are a treasure, and our hearts are always with them, especially when they are away from us.
In these moments, our faith is activated, because while our children are at school, we can’t do much more than pray for them. We are literally open handed with them and hope for the best.
When it comes to personal finance, this principle also applies. Whatever we spend money on, it tends to also capture our hearts and minds. Think about the most recent thing you bought for yourself, that thing that was a want and not a need. I bet you found yourself thinking of it often, especially early on. Yet I imagine, it’s likely that as time went on, the excitement and shine wore off.
Just a few verses earlier, Jesus challenges us, his followers, to store up treasures in heaven as opposed to here on earth. Now I am no theologian, but it seems to me that there could be some confusion as to what these treasures are in heaven that Jesus is referring to.
Some might say, do good things here on earth and get rewards in heaven. For me personally, I believe that the true treasure in heaven is people. That is, the more people that come to place their faith in Jesus, the more treasures, or people there will be in heaven. Now if there is some other form of treasures and rewards that we might receive, I won’t turn them down, but for me, it’s not my motivation or my focus.
So, when I think about storing up treasures, simply put, I think about people. Here at Rejoice, the mission is simple – to lead all generations of our neighbors and nations to follow Jesus. I cannot think of anything greater to invest my personal finances in than the kingdom of God and the work of reaching more people with the message of Jesus. This is why my wife and I always give the first 10% portion of our incomes to the ministry of Rejoice, and it’s why we are teaching our children to do the same. It helps us trust God with our finances but also keep our hearts properly focused.
Recently, Pastor Casey shared an exciting vision to remodel a portion of the church facilities here at Rejoice. We are calling this the “I Love My Church” initiative. This remodel will have a direct impact on the students of the church, but also the surrounding community, for many years to come. My family and I are excited to also invest financially, above and beyond our regular giving, to this compelling initiative.
As I conclude, I want to look back at how Jesus finishes up this part of chapter 6 by challenging us to not worry.
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” -Matthew 6:27
If there is an area of your life you tend to worry about, we want to challenge you to activate your faith in that area of your life and give it to God, whether it’s praying for your family, trusting for breakthrough in a difficult situation, or prioritizing your finances to begin participating in supporting the ministry of Rejoice Church and giving to the “I Love My Church” initiative.
Bobby Reed
Pastor of Operations