Matthew 6:19,20 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
Twenty four hours after the iPhone 5S went on sale around the world, Apple had sold out. Apple’s press release announced it had sold nine million iPhones in the three days since the launch. According to one survey, 95% of those who queued outside the New York store were there for the iPhone 5S in gold.
Contrast this with the following statistics:*
- About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes
- AIDS kills approximately one person every minute
- Every 43 seconds at least one child dies from pneumonia. Almost all of these deaths are preventable.
- Over half a million people die from malaria each year and many millions are seriously weakened by it
When Jesus came to earth as God incarnate, he ‘became poor so that [we] through his poverty might become rich’ (2 Corinthians 8:9), he became nothing so that we could become something (Philippians 2:7). He chose to enter into our broken world so that we could access the richness of his Kingdom on earth. Salvation, restoration, peace and joy are ours because of his death on the cross. So what do we do with these resources? Do we hoard them? Do we huddle in our churches, never looking beyond our own walls? How can we be generous with the things we have been given? We need to care, turn to prayer, and share – which will involve both going and giving.
Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc, was by most accounts a brilliant man with a flawed personality. He died from cancer at 56, and one thing he said that resonates with me is this: “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me.”
Father, help me do something wonderful today with the gifts you’ve blessed me with. Amen!
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