Where Your Treasure Is

I've often said that God has a really funny sense of humor. The ways that He has chosen to teach me lessons or send me reminders are sometimes so odd that all you can do is laugh.

Earlier this week, I was being interviewed for my company's website as they are going to spotlight a different employee every so often. One of the questions was, "What is your most treasured possession?" I didn't have to think too long before I said my Bible. It sounds a little trite...a bit church-y...but it was what I felt in the moment. Later as I thought about it, I wondered to myself if that was really true. And it was interesting to talk to God about it and feel pretty good that it was indeed true.

And then I came home on Friday evening, 12/17. I  had left work and gone to the church building to take some pictures at Room in the Inn. I ended up staying longer than I had planned and arrived back home shortly after 8:00. When I opened the storm door on the front of my house, it was very apparent that I was not the first person to have arrived at my home that evening. I backed down off the porch, hurried back to my car, locked the doors and called 911.

Now I've had lots of experiences in my life but I can't say that any of them are any weirder than having four police cars in front of your house, while the officers draw their weapons and go inside to search your house.

Thankfully no one was in the house. But whoever had been there used a crowbar to try to gain entry at both my front door and my back door. And then just gave up and used the crowbar to bust out my bedroom window and crawl inside. They ransacked the drawers and closets, left a mess in the middle of the floor of most rooms...and they stole my laptop.

My laptop, y'all. Gone. Nothing else missing...just the MacBook.

I had the box it came in so we got the serial number for the police report. But frankly I'm not holding out a lot of hope.

I am grateful that no more damage was done. I am grateful that my landlord expressed grave concern for me and my belongings...and will have someone over tomorrow to fix the doors and window. I am grateful that I wasn't at home when they tried to get in and that I didn't arrive home in the middle of the robbery. I am grateful that nothing else was taken or damaged in my home. But my computer? Really?

You are probably asking yourself, "Where is the funny part?" Well, here is today's reading from The Message, and the verses I was to blog about for today's post from Matthew 6:19-21:

"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust--or worse!--stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moths and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being."

I guess God is using this experience to ask me to really consider if my Bible is indeed my most treasured possession. There are things that I love in my home because they are family heirlooms or were given to me by someone special. But honestly I can say that all of that is just stuff.

Clearly God's word won't cease to exist if my Bible is stolen. So I think I probably would not be as upset if my Bible was stolen and my computer was still on the coffee table where I left it this morning...partly because I would hope that the thief would read the Bible and leave their life of crime...and partly because I have other Bibles. And even if I didn't, a new Bible doesn't cost as much as a new computer!

So as I've pondered these things tonight (in lieu of sleep), I'm struck that perhaps this is a lesson that I needed to learn...or at least think about. Maybe we all need to ask ourselves the question from Matthew 6 - just what do I treasure? And how does that compare to the way I treasure God's word, my relationship with Jesus, and my call to share the good news with others?

Because those truly are the things that can't be stolen from us.

- Holly Barrett