Special Treasures, Special Collections

Special Treasures, Special Collections

Think of an item . . . anything. Whatever you’re thinking of right now, chances are good that someone in the world collects it. New York native Michael Zarnock may have the largest collection of Hot Wheels cars—over eight thousand of them. He’ll often take parts of his fleet to show at schools and toy conventions in the United States and Canada. Edmond Knowles of Alabama liked to collect pennies—lots of them. In 2005, he cashed in his penny collection—all 1,308,459 of them—for more than $13,000! Dan Brown had so many LEGOs—over four million—that he opened an unofficial LEGO museum in Ohio.

It’s amazing what people treasure. Having a collection can be fun. But if collecting things is our greatest passion, then that’s a problem. God is concerned with the place things have in our hearts. He’s a “jealous God,” who wants to be the greatest desire of our hearts and love in our lives. If we treasure our collections above living for God, what are we revealing about our priorities?

We find an interesting example of what one man did with his treasures by reading about King David. He wanted to build a great temple for God. But God told him he couldn’t build it and that his son Solomon would be the builder instead. Disappointed, David didn’t fight with God. He accepted God’s decision and sacrificed what he had to make sure the project would be a success.

In 1 Chronicles 29, David told the people that Solomon would build the Temple. Then he added, “I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction” (v. 3). That sacrifice showed the true priority God held in David’s heart. He was willing to give up his treasures for God.

Daddy-Daughter Time

Think about your earthly treasures or collections you might have. Are these things becoming idols in your heart? Talk together about things you’ve collected over the years. What do you think your collections say about what’s important to you?

The next time you hear of a need, think about your collection. Is God prompting you to give up some of your “private treasures” to honor him and to show the world that people are more important than things?

What’s The Word?

[King David said,] “Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the Temple of my God. . . . And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction.”   1 Chronicles 29:2-3