Where's My Investment Headed?

“ "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

I love this verse. Love, love LOVE it. One of my favorites. Maybe because it makes me feel better about not having the latest and greatest of everything! Seriously though, it is just such a great verse. It reminds me how much I love the notion of living simply, of not consuming so much, and of attempting to be less materialistic.

I feel, even though there is DEFINITELY room for improvement, I do these things well. Even though we have a lot of stuff, I work hard at not claiming ownership over any of it, and try hard to use what I have to meet the needs of others every chance I get. And, as many of my friends can attest, I go through a minor crisis every time we take on a new house project for fear that I am displaying bad stewardship in investing in "environmental beautification" (a.k.a. interior decorating and landscaping) instead of feeding the hungry, or buying Bibles for Wycliff or what have you. It is a major challenge for me to walk that fine line and I agonize about making the best choice.

But a very different question popped into my mind concerning this verse today. I want to throw it out to anyone who's reading to help me come up with an answer. "Do you think our relationships here on earth are earthly treasures or heavenly ones?" The reason I ask is, when I think about where my heart is, I really believe it is in my relationships with other people. That's what gets the majority of my time, energy, thought, and emotion. So I am trying to determine if this is a problem. I think to the extent that I prefer my earthly relationships over the heavenly One (with the Trinity) I am in trouble... which is certainly a possibility. Here's my challenge - God made me an extrovert. Therefore, I refuel by being in relationship with other people. Cloistering myself in a room with a Bible and a journal doesn't recharge me at all. It actually is draining for me, unless I know I'm doing that as preparation for discussion with others. So I have a difficult time knowing when and if I have my relationship with God and my relationship with others in the wrong order of priority.

I want to be sure my "storage efforts" are being put into eternity. I can't help but think that if my passion is relating to others, than I am, by virtue of us all having an eternal soul, investing in the right property. Let's hope so... or let's at least hope God will reveal to me where I have this one all wrong.