Monday, February 12, 2007

Moth-ball free treasures

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy..but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" -Matthew 6:19-21



ok. so i started out slow and i did not post even a word for a week. sorry i didn't keep my word about posting a paragraph everyday... but, somehow i don't think too many people are expecting anything. that's ok. we'll do what we can.

please pray for me. i have a job interview on Thursday morning. Pray for me to trust in God's sovereignty: His hand is not too weak to close or open any doors he wants to. The position i'm interviewing for is a management trainee position with East West Bank. If you know me, you understand that I do not major in economics and have very limited practical knowledge about managing finances... much less any sort of investments. The only thing I know about money is what the Bible says about it: you cannot serve it and be a Christian; use it wisely for eternal purposes; pay taxes; a virtuous woman knows how to use it to make profitable investments; people with a lot of it have a hard time finding themselves inside the Kingdom; the servant who used it well was considered faithful by his master; it is the root of all evil; there's a time to receive it; a worker deserves to have it as his wage; a bank is a good place to put it; false teachers always seem inclined to have it, etc. sometimes, i think i am scared to handle money because i think it will decide how i live the rest of my life... which is true to some extent. nevertheless, the Lord gives and He requires of me to be a responsible steward of His gifts, money is one of them. maybe this job will teach me lots of spiritual lessons.

speaking of spiritual lessons concerning provision and anxiety over it.... I really appreciate Joe Penberthy's sermon today:

"if you call yourself a Christian and have entrusted your SOUL to God. How is it that you can be so inconsistent and hypocritical to worry about these things ?"

these things refer to anything you would worry about on a daily basis: food, shelter, clothing, etc. we Californians have augmented this issue into more than mere anxiety regarding the availability of these things, but we have made it into an art and a lifestyle to obtain a high level of comfort and ease by means of these things. what should i wear today to impress my friends today? which dining hall should i eat at? which apartment building should i live in? which roommates will i get along with the best? which video game should i buy next? which classes should i take next quarter? where do i want to work? who should i marry?
these things are not bad things and there is nothing wrong about making these sorts of decisions everyday. perhaps you even know somebody who needs to spend more time thinking about these things. after all, doesn't the Bible command us to glorify God in every little thing?

i don't think the issue resides in the nature of these decisions, given the fact that many of these seem like pertinent decisions for a college student make concerning his stewardship in order to honor the God. But as a young-asian-american-californian-evangelical-christian-man, i find myself and others who identify with me in at least 2 out of these 7 categories... on the one hand acknowledging the mundaneness, or perhaps even "unspiritual-ness," of spending time making decisions about these things; yet on the other hand, abiding by a twisted Christo-cultural hybrid of ideals that have subtly become our criteria for decision-making. i understand the Bible has its cultural context and we live in a cultural context that requires proper interpretation of the text... but practically, our generation is compromising more and more in our daily decisions. we have become experts at spiritualizing. you know how it is. our problem is not just being anxious over these things, but we seek these things instead of the Kingdom, because we care about our bodies more than our souls.

i hope my job interviews and actually having a job will not make me gold digger. honestly.

I want the treasure in heaven!

no wonder Jesus provided this context (treasure in heaven) before He spoke about anxiety over these things. the key word is "so." pretty awesome and comforting truth if you think about... especially for people who have a job interview coming up this week.

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:33-34

(for more insight on the real meaning of the text, consult a Holy Spirit near/inside you)

1 comment:

Jonathan said...

hey i'm reading.. that's good stuff, thanks beland