Do you really know where your treasure is

I was reading God’s word around the parable written in the gospel of Matthew 6:21;

which quotes verbatim, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Looks like

just one of those arrows that fast goes right to the heart, stops you, you can’t go

beyond, it is not a formal question, but it is a statement that, for those who have the ear

sensitive, he finds himself forced to reflect and knock on the door of his own conscience,

asking himself, “but where is my treasure really ?” This examination, there

leads us to wonder:

● Where, and in what we devote much of our time;

● Where our thoughts constantly go;

● What we can’t do without;

● What we jealously guard in our hearts;

● What are our priority choices every day;

For you and I know that the heart always leads us to follow what we think is most

important, there where we often find ourselves investing much of our time,

devoting our thoughts, our energies, our choices, often unconsciously

That this has taken full possession of our hearts.

Therefore, it doesn’t take long to figure out where our treasure is, you can see very well of how

we spend our time, even our free time, there where no one sees us or

No one forces us to do anything. If the treasure is work, our heart will be

always there (even when we are at home), I speak from personal experience, for fifteen

years I worked in the suburbs, making many sacrifices by traveling to be on time to the

church services, not to mention having to meet the needs of the family as well, but

I loved my work, and I can assure you that my heart was always still there, there I was

excellent, present, functional, productive, the remaining I had to do, yet

I prayed, read the word, visited needy brethren, took children to the pediatrician,

I was shopping with my wife, visiting my parents, but my treasure, my

Honey, it was there in my work.

Here, without our realizing it, we actually become what we deem worthy

being followed, Jesus in Matthew 6:21, confronts us with the classic theme of being, and

i.e. “Desire” and “Value,” in other words that treasure of yours is desired by your

heart, but you have no guarantee that the value it actually possesses will give you

true stability, independence or freedom.

Jesus in this day forces us to throw off the mask, tells us, “Look that in

reality you always find yourself bound to something, something that separates you from me.”

I wanted to mention the work, because it was my experience, but we know very well

which could be, a strong emotional bond, (sometimes even toxic), or a

any addiction, know that the “treasure” is the object of attachment, it is

attachment can generate: anxiety (fear of loss), loss of control, loss of

self-esteem (continuous comparison, or a constant expectation of approval from the

others).

We often say, “the heart does not lie,” but in reality it follows what we there

we put in, and if we put in lies or illusions, it will produce lies and

disappointments.

Brother, sister, if you now feel that you are transforming your inner world, do not

Fight your emotions, but change your treasure.

St. Augustine asserted that the heart is not neutral, it is still attracted as a

force of gravity pulling it, we cannot help but love something or someone, the

problem is not to love too much, but to love badly, that is, to place absolute value on what is

ephemeral and relative.

Here Matthew 6:21; it is very clear: If your treasure is frail, your heart will live in the

fear; If your treasure is unstable, your heart will become restless; the dynamics of the

desire and the value we place on it, unfortunately act before reason, the

heart doesn’t follow the truth, it follows what makes it feel good, so we stick to

an assumed security, Matthew asks us a few more questions, “Tell me, where are you

seeking rest”; and “What takes away your peace if you try to eradicate it from your heart”; ti

advice not to fight with it, the heart does not accept orders, but is healed

with the truth by calmly changing your habits, remember that the heart follows the

treasure, it is therefore the treasure that needs to be moved, starting with your mind.

Another great truth is this battlefield of ours finds many enemies in its

terrain, internal and external enemies, starting with our lusts to give

space then for the integer enemy of our souls who tribulates us, and here I get back to the

vision of Abraham, in that passage of scripture in Genesis 15:11; “Now some birds

raptors descended on the dead beasts, but Abraham drove them away.” Here, we would like to

make God our great treasure, we would like to present offerings of praise and

worship, we arm ourselves with good intentions, but we punctually fail, and our

mind drags us far away, for multiple thoughts crowd in, like crows and the

Abraham’s vultures. Here, we should start right here, driving them away:

“tell me what you are thinking and I will tell you who you are,” don’t let that happen, you and I, brothers

Let us pray to the Lord, say to Him, ” Lord, You call us to watch over our hearts,

You know very well that our heart is insanely wicked, but we come to

You in this hour because we know that without You we can do nothing,

We trust in Your infinite love, help us to truly make Your parable our own

Of the pearl of great value found, and to be able to sell each of our treasures

built by us, to make it ours at last, (Matthew 13:46). Amen.

Salvatore Sturniolo