Tactic Of The Day: Treasuring The Treasure
One of my favorite shows growing up was Shark Tank. I loved to watch this show and listen to the Sharks evaluate and give feedback to these entrepreneurs as they are working to scale their businesses. One of the parts of the show I loved most was thinking about company evaluations. For those that haven’t seen the show the people pitching their business will come into the “shark tank” and when they walk in the first thing they say is “ My company is X and im looking for an investment of this amount for a certain percentage of my company”. From that point the sharks would have an evaluation of their company and begin negotiations.
The reason this interested me so much was because I always wanted to be a business owner and thinking about monetary value to a company I owned was very exciting. Putting a dollar amount on something you put your blood sweat and tears into was very appealing to my flesh.
There came a strong correction I got from God and the overall idea was I was treasuring the treasure. As I thought about how I treated finances in my life I was like the dragon sitting on the pile of gold and never was my mindset about how this currency we use could be prospered into God’s kingdom. I was under the impression that the money was for me and my family and we would just manage it as so. A big part of my treasuring the treasure mentality was security. I was always trying to acquire so my family would be set financially.
There were 2 key points of correction I received that changed my entire outlook on money. The first is I read a book called “Breaking Hell’s Economy” by Joseph Z and the first major point in his book is to show that security does not come from financial status or system but from God. The example they gave showed how many times the economy has crashed. There are notable times in the United States where the financial system was hanging by a thread and the majority of people were in pure poverty. Now the interesting thing about the point he made was this was not the case for everyone though. On the inverse of financial crashes are people that prosper financially and to put our stake in the financial system will always put you in a spot of turmoil.
This idea that our security does not come from the world is a consistent theme in our belief system but many times we as believers do not extend it into our finances and this is where I was in my life. Isaiah 40:8 says The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. The reason this scripture is so important is because the word of God refers to all the promises He has made us. So instead of trusting the promises of God I turned money into an Idol and was treasuring the treasure and not the All Mighty.
The second major point of correction I received was thinking my works are greater than God’s grace. As I was going through my 20s the biggest thing I always told myself was “I will just work harder”. What ended up happening was as I progressed in my life I turned into my own god. I turned into thinking I made the income, I created opportunities, I was my own source.
Now I want to pause and be clear, we do have to show up to work and we do have to put in time, effort and energy for God. But where I was led to by the enemy and his army was taking God out of the picture completely. I thought everything I did was because of my hard work and never even considered that God placed those opportunities in my lap. The verse that changed my perspective was John 15:5, Jesus is speaking in this verse and it says “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
Now when I sat with this for the first time the enemy was quickly talking in my head. The first thought was “of course I can do something”. There I was coaching college soccer living my dream job so I was “doing something” but I was not in with God. What we are being told in this verse is the difference between fulfillment and emptiness. It’s waking up going to work and feeling content and satisfied no matter your income because God is your source and not a dollar amount you make in a job position.
When I realized I was in the “doing nothing” category I prayed for a realignment of my heart to God’s nature and not the enemies. I prayed to be led to a place where I would feel the fulfillment of God’s presence in all aspects of my life and not leave Him out. I prayed for a renewing of my mind to stop treasuring the treasure and treasure God Himself.
We all need to have an evaluation of what we treasure and be able to admit we have been led astray at times. The enemy and his army are supernatural forces of evil and to think we won’t get fooled is naive. But our God is greater and if your heart is open God will correct you back into His will. We all need to evaluate our heart posture.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
Remember God judges us based on our heart, we can not hide it from Him. So take a second to be honest and humble and find somewhere in your life where you are treasuring the treasure and not God himself.
Chris Lucas