How to succeed in tough economic times – the right kind of treasure

Are we in a recession? A depression? Have you or someone you know faced hard times? You can still succeed, no matter what the economy does.

Let’s look at your worldview.  How do you see the world? I’m not talking about being a Pollyanna, ignoring every possible problem. But, I am talking about figuring out what things are important.

See, we live in a society where there is so much advertising, we tend to look at it and say, “Oh, if I have this latest gadget I’ll feel better.” Or, we think that, “I need a bigger home, bigger car, bigger everything.”  In other words, our worldview is partly shaped by that desire for the newest and best of everything.

But, who told you that newest was best?  Who told you that biggest was best?  Chances are, it was probably a combination of advertising and your friends, many of whom have a lot of that stuff. Or, had it, till the recession, depression, or whatever this is.

The way to succeed in these times is to change worldviews.

It’s really a sweet decision.  All those advertisers have been telling you that you have to have the latest gadget, and that only the newest things are the best, and so on.  You can tell them to forget about their things, which don’t last, which can be broken, lost, or stolen,and which grow old.  And, you can gain rewards that will never grow old, never wear out, never get stolen, and never lose value.

I’m not talking about gold, silver, or anything else here on earth, either.  I’m talking about building Heavenly rewards.  Because, only there can we really have satisfaction.

How do we get these rewards that are free from crashes, free from aging and inflation?  You might have even heard Matthew 6:20, “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” But, you wonder how to do that.  Here are several basic principles, to help you build those treasures.

1. Have a home up in Heaven.

Think about it.  If you wanted to invest in the stock market, what would you do?  Pick out the right stocks?  Plan your investment strategy?  No, of course not.  You’d open an account.

In the same way, you need to open an account in heaven.  To do that, you need to receive His forgiveness for our sins.

Think of Heaven as a delicious human food, and sins as dog food.  Most people would never eat dog food if they had a choice, especially if it was between that and a delicious meal of whatever your favorite food is.  You’ve got that food all ready to be served, but there’s a problem.  Someone threw dog food into it.  You couldn’t touch that yucky stuff, right?  You’d throw it out in a hurry.

In the same way, anything we bring to the table in Heaven needs to be cleansed.  We need our lives cleansed from sin.  The only way to do that is to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.  You need to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:30) It was “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)  So, you can’t do anything to get those sins cleansed yourself. You need to let Jesus do it for you.  And, you can’t add anything to it, because Jesus Christ saved you by dying on the cross, and rising from the dead, before you ever knew Him.  He had you on His mind when He went to the cross.

So, you need to receive what He did, by simple faith, as taking the whole punishment for your sins.  He shed His blood once, for all; the just for the unjust.  That’s how you have your sins cleansed. Once you’ve received Him as your Savior, you can start earning those rewards in heaven.  Because, you have an account up there.

And, that account can never be taken away.  You are sealed unto the day of redemption, with the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 4:30, 1:14).  That seal can’t be broken.  Nothing can separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. (Rom. 8:38-39)

2. Put Jesus Christ first in your life, and serve Him.

Remember that dog food example, where we compared sin to it?  Your account is secure in Heaven.  That means you can build treasures there, like a chef makes a great meal.  However, sometimes, the “great meal” you build in Heaven have a little “dog food” in it yet.  Obviously, it’s no good then.  How does this happen? It happens when we don’t build in the right way; when we put something else ahead of Jesus.

The things we build here on earth won’t matter in Heaven.  There’s a famous joke that a very rich man, who had trusted Christ as his Savior, asked to bring something with him when he got to heaven.  He was told he could bring one bag, and so when he died, he had that bag stuffed, ready to take it with him.  When he got to the Pearly Gates, St. Peter checked the records, and said, “Okay, I see you were allowed to bring one bag, but I have to check inside.” He opened it, and said, in a shocked voice, “Of all the things you could bring, why would you bring pavement?!” the rich man had brought gold, but gold is useless as pavement up there; it’s what they pave the streets with in heaven!

First Corinthians 3:11-15 tells us the things we do will be tested, to see if they were really for Jesus, or for ourselves.  If you want to gain rewards that will last forever, your goal in life must be to be Christlike, and to glorify God in all you do.  That doesn’t mean that you totally ignore wealth.  If God has gifted you with the ability to make money as a good, honest businessman, you should.  But, what it means is that you use whatever wealth, talent, or time you have to help others, instead of always trying to please yourself.  And, that in helping others, your eye should not be on making yourself look good by doing so.  It should be on showing the love of Christ in helping others.

The beautiful thing is, these are treasures we can earn at any time.  Some people do better with little than they would with a lot.  You are where you are in life, because God has placed you there, or God has allowed you to be there through your choices, so that you can show Godly love, goodness, and so on to others.

These are things we can do no matter what the economy does.  The poorest person on earth could have untold riches in Heaven; but, so could a very rich person. The key is simple. Build your treasures in Heaven. This requires you to put them on the foundation of Jesus Christ, first of all, and to seek, in your heart, to glorify Him by showing others Who He is. Because, we are not here to save the world, though we should try to make the world better where we can.  We are here to save sinners from a lost and dying world.  This world of things will one day vanish. But, the rewards we build in Heaven will last forever.