19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~ Matthew 6:19-21
Going through my many possessions following a move to a new home, I found a box of baseball caps. I was reminded of a period of my life in which I thought I wanted to visit every Major League Baseball park. I made it to a good handful of parks and, with each visit, would buy a hat to commemorate the trip (whether it was a MLB park or otherwise).
That dream is now a distance memory. Today, I question why it was ever a dream at all. I mean really, why spend money on all these hats? So I can have a different one for every day of the month? So I can feel like some kind of “authority” on ballparks when I get the chance to talk baseball?
I don’t even wear hats all that much!
Surely God has a much better plan for me. Somewhere I came to this realization. But now I have all these hats. And I’m also reminded of this verse from Matthew.
Sure, the hats won’t “rust” in the common sense, but such material possessions are subject to decay – which is a literal definition of rust. So too is mildew, rot, etc. In short, all our “stuff” will rot and decay.
Let us not allow our minds and hearts rust and decay. How do we do that, by exercising them according to a routine prescribed by our Lord.