ASLC Devotions -- Ash Wednesday

Matthew 6:19-21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I’ve been thinking a lot about financial security since I was “reduced in force” from my job last fall. It’s tempting to worry about finances and earthly treasure to the exclusion of all else. But I need to ponder what and where my treasure really is.

ELCA pastor and New Testament scholar Mark Allan Powell wrote for The Lutheran in November 2006 on Matthew 6:21, the final verse above. These words are ringing in my ears these days. Powell said we usually reverse what Jesus said: that where our hearts are, there will our treasure end up. He pointed out that, in fact, what this verse says is that “how we spend our money determines what sort of people we become.” As he put it, “We can decide what sort of people we would like to be and then give generously of our treasure — our time, our money and our talents — to those things that will change us within.”

That makes a difference as I consider my next career move. What might it mean in your life? Is it good news that we have a choice about where we want our hearts to be?

Sonia C. Solomonson

For more information on the ministries of All Saints, visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org. Join us for Ash Wednesday worship today at noon and 7 pm.