Where your treasure is...
I've skipped the bit about fasting as it's a reprise of not doing things in public and moved on to Matthew 6.19
Where is your treasure. That's easy.. where is your heart? What really matters to you? What do you find yourself thinking about when the every day stuff is taken care of? Your treasure is where your deep down heartfelt concerns are.
It may be family, friends, or some passion, good cause, activity or sport. All perfectly understandable. Or it may be yourself, your self image, the degree to which you feel validated, successful or powerful. Do you like to be the centre of attention, do you like everyone to know how good you are at something?
It's easy to criticise this in others... but there will be a bit of that "look at me" in all of us, I'm afraid. We all like to be appreciated. We all want to be affirmed and to some extent, of course, it's very important that we feel that others love us and value us.
But... you have probably guessed... there's a "but" coming!
If our treasure is where it's meant to be and our heart is at rest in what is God's desire for us, then in actual fact we will ben less concerned with the good opinion of others.
Now, there's a danger. People who have what is known as "sociopathic tendencies" have absolutely no sense of needing validation by other people. They are so wrapped up in their own egos that they are sufficient to themselves. We've have probably noticed one or two politicians who are sociopaths, careless of the opinions of anyone but themselves.
That's not what I'm talking about when I say we will, as we mature as Christians, be less concerned about validation. The sociopath has no time for God, who is the ultimate affront to their own ego. But Christians learn that they do need validation, but that in the end the only validation they need is God's validation. The mature skill is to know which validation is which!
As our hearts are fixed, as the old collect says "where true joys are to be found" we will discover that it is being focussed on God that brings the fulness of joy and the richest treasure, and it is here that we can finally rest. We no longer have to strive to be good, because we can't be good without God. We no longer have to beat ourselves up for failing, because we have God forgiveness, and any tears are tears of happiness, wonder and love.
And then we will start to see clearly for the first time, and the light in us will be all we need, because it will be God himself.
The Book of Common Prayer collect at evensong is really all about this:
O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed: Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
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