Don’t store up your treasures on Earth

The story is told of a woman who went shopping in Germany during the post-war days of hyper inflation when cash was close to useless.

She had brought a wheelbarrow full of money to the store, and figuring that the notes were of such little value that no one would steal it, she left it outside the shop, unattended. When she came out again the money was indeed still there, but the wheelbarrow had gone. We could be heading for those days again before too long.

There are those who believe that we could be heading to a similar scenario and that the present global financial mess that we’re all in is in fact the beginning of the end of the world’s monetary system as we know it.

For years it has been prophesied that the world is facing yet another and even more catastrophic crash.

And there are those who would say that if there is an impending total collapse of national economies, it is no accident; there are shadowy forces masterminding it.

Cash will cease to exist – and we know that banks do not like cash – and everything involved in buying and selling will be done by means of electronic transactions. Experiments have already been carried out successfully in New Zealand in which a chip is implanted in the right hand and in the forehead of shoppers. An overhead scanner reads the shopper’s details from the chip in the forehead as he or she enters the store and then the chip in the wrist is read at the checkout and the deal is done; no cash, no chequebooks and no credit card.

The chip, it is said, contains three groups of numbers; six being the date of birth, six being the National Insurance number and the remaining six being the postal code – could that be the 666 you read about in Revelation 13 – the mark of the Beast?

I don’t know about all that apocalyptic stuff about looming economic Armageddon, but none of us should be in any doubt that the world economy is fragile, who knows what might be the ramifications for us all if Greece defaults on its borrowings and the Euro zone goes into meltdown?

But there is nothing new under the sun, is there? Jesus foresaw it all, as did his half brother James a few years later. Jesus warned us, ‘Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal them.

Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.’

And James? ‘Look here, you rich people,’ he said. ‘Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment.’

Read between the lines there and you will see that the root of the problem is not money, it’s the love of money and the craving for it so strong that rightful wages were withheld and the poor are trampled underfoot.

However, in these dark days that can only get darker yet, there is no need for fear if our priorities are right. The words of the Master ring loud and clear like a bell in the night, ‘Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.’

That’s a degree of comfort that neither George Osborne nor David Cameron can ever give.

What do you think? Tell me: [email protected]