MAY 18, 2010

LEAVE IT

ALL BEHIND

Scripture Reading - Matthew 6:19-20

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth

corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,

and where thieves do not break through nor steal."

Have you ever watched a funeral procession slowly make its way to a cemetery? The funeral director sits in the lead car. Then comes the funeral coach followed by the minister and the family vehicles. The lineup then includes vehicles of friends and acquaintances.

Have you ever seen a moving truck in the procession? Of course not. There's no need for a moving van or cargo trailer when someone goes to the grave.

The explanation is simple. When people step out of this life - when death takes them from this world - they take nothing with them. After the death of a wealthy man, someone asked, "How much did he leave?" the answer? "He left it all." That's right. When we die, we leave everything behind. No matter how much we accumulate or accomplish in this world, we cannot take any possessions from this world to the next.

A simple test helps us determine which things in this life will have value in the next. You can determine the true value of anything by evaluating what it will be worth to you in 1,000 years. Unfortunately, many things that occupy our lives aren't going to be of much value in eternity.

Someone has said, "Someday, all I will have is what I gave to God." As families, we must carefully evaluate the value system we are establishing in our homes. To only for the "here and now" will leave us bankrupt in the "then and there."

APPLICATION: Pass a $20 bill around to each family member. Ask each person to suggest a way the money could be worth something in 1,000 years.

- Tom Palmer