Iron Sharpens Iron, Men Strengthen Men

I recently spent some time with an old work friend of mine who I hadn’t seen in a long time. At one point, we had worked together and saw each other every day for two years but once I left that company, not so much anymore. However I had the opportunity where we could have some dinner so I took advantage of the chance to get back together with him. As you can imagine, we talked about the usual work stuff and family stuff but somehow the topic bent toward winning the lottery of all things. To be clear, in my mind that topic is just wasted mental energy because the chances of winning are not worth spending the time thinking about what you would do with all that money. But as I sat there and listened to my friend talk, I realized he had taken this lottery-planning topic to a whole new level. Honestly, the amount of detail he had already planned out was utterly amazing. He knew where he would invest, who he would give money to, and how much. He knew what upgrades he would make to his home, where he would take his first vacation, how he would quit his job, and the list went on and on. He even worked out a plan to help his son pay off his student loans, buy his parents, brother and nephews new homes…and guys, I could keep going. I finally interrupted him and asked him why? Why would you invest so much of your time and brainpower on a topic that will never happen? He replied simply, “ah, but it could, and I want to be prepared”

“Prepared”, I thought. “Interesting concept.”

From your perspective, what does it take to be prepared for anything? Investing time, thought and effort towards something helps one be prepared…However Christ told us to prepare by storing up for ourselves, treasures in Heaven…in other words, preparation for eternity…not preparation for a fictitious event, or for that matter, anything else here on earth.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust can consume, and where thieves can neither break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt. 6:20-21

So what is a treasure in heaven? How can I have any connection with heaven while I am still here and living on this earth? Here is how I look at this; my friend was investing huge amounts of his time thinking about a fantasy event rather than thinking about how to make a difference now while he is here on earth. For example, how about spending more time with his kids, or his wife or both? What about focusing on or engaging with a particular subject that might make him better or even the people around him better? In my mind, all of these suggestions are treasures that are being stored in heaven for him. It’s like making a deposit in a bank or maybe better yet, it’s an investment in your eternal future.

Jesus said, “How will they know me? By how YOU love one another”

Pretty simple actually. If we take the time to be kind to someone, anyone…when you aren’t required to do so…YES… it helps them, but believe it or not, that is a treasure YOU have stored in heaven. What you do here on earth matters for your eternal future.

You see…everything we store up in heaven is safe…forever. There are not any malware or viruses that can wipe out your deposits in Heaven. Christ said this in the verse above, where neither moth nor rust can consume, and where thieves can neither break through nor steal.

NOTHING can destroy what you have stored there…It is safe for all eternity

My simple advice:

Lets just try to get out of our own way, focus on each other for a change, and watch what happens…

What I think you will find is a far happier group of family and friends because you aren’t 100% solely focused on you…or like my friend in the beginning of this post, who spent too much time planning for a fictitious event.

So as you begin to look and plan for this next year, 2015…my recommendation is to start making heavenly deposits sooner rather than later…

Honestly, your future depends on it…

Until next time Guys…