Investing in Eternity
by Joe Leavell
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels
One of my favorite small books is called “The Treasure Principle” by author, Randy Alcorn. If you have not read it yet, I highly encourage you to get a copy and read it! It won’t take very long, and it will challenge your thinking! This is a book that is based off Jesus’ statement in Matthew 6:21 that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Personally, Alcorn’s book helped me to think through how I spend my resources and what I hold dear. It’s a great little book, not just as I think through my finances, but also everything that I value and hold on to. In this book, Alcorn gives a powerful illustration that has continued to stick with me through the years.
Using Confederate Money
“Imagine you’re alive at the end of the Civil War,” Alcorn challenges. “You’re living in the South, but you are a Northerner. You plan to move home as soon as the war is over. While in the South you’ve accumulated lots of Confederate currency. Now, suppose you know for a fact that the North is going to win the war and the end is imminent. What will you do with your Confederate money?”
I love this scenario and not just because I love Civil War history! What would the knowledge of knowing how the war ends change what we would do with those Confederate dollars? In one sense, the answer should be obvious. Frankly, if you knew for a fact that the South would lose, I would daresay that you would not spend your time and energy trying to accumulate and horde as many Confederate dollars as you could. If you have any brains at all, you are going to quickly trade in your Confederate money in exchange for something that you know will retain value long after the war is over.
As believers, we face a similar scenario. Yet we often have a hard time looking at our time, our possessions, and our money as something temporary that will one day be worthless. Think about it for a moment. Does knowing how the war of the ages ends change how we invest our resources? Why would we spend all our time, money, energy, and abilities in the same way we do currently if we stopped and considered their temporary versus eternal value?
How Much Value?
Just like Confederate dollars, when Jesus returns, what will your impeccable Call of Duty statistics really be worth? How about that three under par you shot on your last round? How much value will you find in that car that you have sunk thousands into upgrades and hours into polishing? How about that yard that you keep looking flawless or that house you feel you must keep so pristine? How hard do you work on your social status and people’s perception of your success? How about those 20 hours of overtime that you worked every week so you could keep things comfortable at home? Will you relish in where you got your degree, how far you made it in your education, or your GPA? What about that 401k and those stocks you check out every single day?
Will you find value in your memory of every football player’s stats, every celebrity statistic, every politician’s position, or every bit of juicy gossip from social media? We could go on from there and go into endless things that we invest our time, our energy, and our money into, but you get the idea. Some things we do are arguably more valuable and worthwhile than others but so much of what we think is important in themselves has a net value of “zero” because they will not last.
This is not to say that playing a video game or a round of golf is sinful, nor is it to say as an avid Bronco’s fan that I wasn’t ecstatic that Peyton finally got another Super Bowl win a few years back. Yet Jesus’ advice for us is to utilize our temporary resources that we have been given for something that will last for eternity.
He tells us to,
“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Scripture also tells us to,
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ”
This principle is a change of mindset. Rather than depositing our temporary resources and energy in ways where they will lose all lasting value, biblical wisdom is found in utilizing those resources for eternity.
How Do I Invest in Eternity?
The clear place to start is in investing in your own relationship with Christ. Knowing Christ is the prize of eternity so any investment in your walk with the Lord is a worthy venture. Reading God’s Word and spending time with Him in prayer are obvious ways to invest in your eternal relationship.
In addition to spending time directly with the Lord, utilize your resources that He has given you to get to know Him and His character better. Spend those temporary resources reflecting His love by loving your neighbor as yourself. Invest in others by sharing the Gospel with people who do not yet know and serve Him. Invest in creating quality art, books, and music that reflect God’s creative image in you and reflects His glory. Invest in your church family and in setting deep roots into your community. Invest in the wellbeing of your spouse and your children, teaching and modeling God’s ways in front of them. Invest in reflecting Christ through your job by excelling at your work for His glory. Set your treasure in heaven by exploring and cultivating God’s creation and praising Him for what He has made. These are just examples of ways that we can utilize our time and energy for eternal purposes.
The interesting thing about our temporary resources is that when we use them for their own sakes, they lose their value. When we invest them to spend time with our Master and use them to reflect His purposes then even the smallest and most mundane of tasks has eternal value.
The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret to Joyful Giving - by Randy Alcorn
