By Brooke Grona Robb

I must confess I tend to think I'm a heart-first kind of gal. Imagining my heart following my treasure makes me sorrowful—who would ever want their heart chasing after Amazon trucks? Unless it's some modern day reimaging of "You've Got Mail," it's an awfully sad thought.

So, I read and reread this verse. And, I turned to two important resources: the Bible and Google.

This verse comes in the Sermon on the Mount, after the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer.  And right after a reminder that the vermin and thieves will destroy our earthly treasures. Jesus is teaching us to store up heavenly treasures, not the earthly ones.

Perhaps it's my vulnerable relationship with money that makes me worry as I ponder this scripture. I'm not a budget girl. I flit between a fear that I am in a position of scarcity to an awareness that I live in a world of embarrassing luxury. When I reflect on my life compared to so many living in poverty, I know I've always lived in a world of abundance. So what drives my fear that there's not enough and one day my needs will outpace my means? Is this the vermin and thieves in my mind, stealing peace and allowing uncertainty to misguide me?

If what Jesus is teaching is that our heart can be found by looking at where our time, talents, and treasures are, it is hard for me to imagine a better place for all three than the church I've belonged to for over 50 years. Transfiguration is most certainly a collection of heavenly treasures in my esteem. I sit in the pews and hear the voices of so many beloved people who have stood in that church before me, promising to go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

So how can I fight those vermin and thieves that steal my peace in the night? One way is certainly by serving. By going to St. Jude to serve dinner to those who would otherwise lack a nice meal, by spending time putting together food so pantry families can leave with a way to feed their children, by serving at Austin Street and hearing grateful people tell me "God bless you," which I almost never hear outside of Sunday morning.

And by making sure that my earthly treasure spends less time chasing Amazon trucks and more time following my heart. For where my heart is, there also should be my treasure.

 

What are the things driving your fear of not having enough?

Is there anything preventing you from being as generous as you wish to be?