Where Is Your Treasure?

“A granny in Malaysia hit rock bottom in an unusual way after she had her entire life savings completely devoured by termites. A Facebook post detailing her unfortunate route to rock bottom is currently blowing up online. According to her grandson, Khairul Azhar, who uploaded the tragic tale, the unnamed senior had reportedly squirreled away RM30,000 (around $8,700) in a box for a pilgrimage to Mecca in 2024, the Straits Times reported. However, her dreams of a trip to the holy land were soon dashed by a biblical plague of bugs. When she tried accessing her stash, she saw that the banknotes had been chewed to shreds by termites, per her son’s account. Accompanying photos show the mangled greenbacks, which have been sliced into leaf-like shapes. Khairul, who lives in Kelantan, said he tried to salvage the situation by sending half of the pillaged bills to the Central Bank of Malaysia with the hopes of getting them replaced. However, he claimed that the other half were beyond salvaging. Khairul alleged that perhaps the banknote banquet was a sign that his grandmother was not destined to go to Mecca. Now, he is imploring others to refrain from storing their cash at home, lest they suffer a similar fate”*

This is a rather vivid illustration of an admonition Jesus included in the Sermon on the Mount. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal…” (Matthew 6:19–20). The point, of course, is that earthly treasure is subject to earthly damage as the story above illustrates. A better plan would be to focus on heavenly treasure because it is exempt from moth, rust, thieves (and termites). God protects our heavenly investments! According to the apostle Peter, our heavenly inheritance is “...imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you…” (1 Peter 1:4).

God loves you!

Mike

*https://nypost.com/2023/07/28/termites-eat-grandmothers-life-savings-for-trip-to-mecca/