“But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” — Matthew 6:20-22
Your Heart Follows Your Money
I love and value my daughters. And I value my money. Five years ago, I had never heard of Southern Nazarene University, a Christian, liberal arts college near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. But when my daughter accepted a scholarship offer to play volleyball at SNU, the school gained a special place in my heart. Because it had my daughter and my money, SNU was almost always on my mind.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:21 that wherever we put what we love and value, our hearts will follow. So if you want God to have more of your heart, then give Him what you value.
God gives us all material resources to manage. God owns everything but He gives us a portion to manage. One of the ways we can give God more of our hearts, and think about His Kingdom more, is by giving our financial resources to the local church and to missions and ministries. When we do that consistently, we’ll find that our hearts will follow where we put our treasure.
How often do you think about God and His work? Do you want God to have more of your heart? Do you want greed and consumerism to release their grip on your heart? Well, here is the solution: generous, consistent giving to God and His work in the world. We can’t take our material wealth with us when we leave this earth, but we can pay it forward.
— Ikki Soma, Houston Rockets chaplain
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