Money: The Treasure Test

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Luke 12:34

We never do anything for only one reason. No matter what the subject, we find many desires, ambitions, and motives in our minds when we consider a particular decision.

I attend a Bible study to learn more about Christ. I am also very anxious to fit in, to be liked, and to gain the approval of the other men. We don’t always consciously think about it, but we all want to be loved.

I want their approval, but I am keenly aware of human nature’s frailty, so I am careful not to say anything that would damage my reputation if repeated by loose lips. And finally, I confess that I am still selfish enough to think about what someone might be able to do for me later on.

The logical question is this: If so many multiple desires, ambitions, and motives run together in our minds (and many of those subcon-sciously), how can we ever know if we are living a fully surrendered life, a life pleasing to God?

To Know Yourself…

Is there a litmus test one can take to know himself? In one sense, you cannot ever fully know yourself. “Who can discern his errors?” (Psalm 19:12). Our natural hearts always have the capacity to deceive us at any moment. Tiny pinholes in our character leak under too much pressure. And our hidden (or unknown) needs motivate us in ways we know virtually nothing about.

In another sense, though, we can walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Though dark, secret caverns dot the landscape of our minds, the blood of our Savior covers, cleanses, and sanctifies the secrets of our sinful nature. "Forgive my hidden faults” (Psalm 19:12).

The Biblical Christian walks in the Spirit, while the cultural Christian gratifies the desires of the sinful nature. How can we know with certainty whether we live in the Spirit to please God, or in the flesh to please self?

Jesus knows that we are filled with a mountain of motives, an avalanche of ambitions, and a den of desires. He knows many myriad thoughts roam our minds when we make decisions. He knows that our hidden needs for approval, respect, love, and survival compel us in ways we know virtually nothing about. That’s why the Scriptures indicate that deceit can so easily seep in through the pinholes of our weak character.

Even so, the question is easy to answer. The first disposition of our heart reveals whether we are a Biblical or a cultural Christian. How can we discover the first disposition of our heart?

…Follow the Money

Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Jesus says how we spend our money reveals what we love, our true affections. Look at where your money went—it reveals the first disposition of your heart. Where you have stored your treasure is the record of where you have walked, either as a Biblical Christian or a cultural Christian. Follow the money.

When the government or a business suspects fraud, the auditors always follow the money. The money trail—not the verbal trail—proves what motivated the man, what the first disposition of his heart was. Although good, evil, and ambiguous motives may commingle together, where the money goes settles the record. It precisely indicates where the heart went.

If you want to know the first disposition of your heart, Jesus provides the fool-proof test. He asks, “Where is your treasure?”

Where does the money trail lead in your life? Does it please God? Have you been storing treasure like a Biblical Christian or a cultural Christian?

The cultural Christian lets “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke [the Word], making it unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). The root of cultural Christianity is worry and deceit—worry over the temporary world and deceit over what money can accomplish.

If you find it difficult to segregate the multiple motives of your heart, if you find it difficult to know if you are pleasing God, then examine the record of where your treasure is. If you suspect you have lived the life of a cultural Christian, you are probably right. If you desire to please God, to be a Biblical Christian, to pass the treasure test, then redirect the trail of your money. “‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’” (Luke 12:34).

I SURRENDER

Heavenly Father, I confess that I have not been pleasing You. The record shows that I have been a cultural Christian. I want my life to please You, but I am weak and sinful. I have let the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of money choke the Word, and I have not been as fruitful as I should be. Empower me by the Spirit to make the tough choices to redirect my treasures. I surrender them to You. Do with them as You desire, according to the purpose of Your will. Amen.