The Hot Pink Turtle

"Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], 'Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.' But he said to him, 'Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?' And he said to them, 'Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.' And he told them a parable, saying, 'The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, "What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?" And he said, "I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry." But God said to him, "Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God'" (Luke 12:13-21, emphasis added).

The rich man placed all his faith in his possessions and hoped for more earthly riches; all he lived for was relaxation and comfort.  Isn't there more to life than this?  God calls us to more than chasing material prosperity, loving earthly comforts, and seeking popular admiration.  Jesus never offered a life of material wealth.  Instead, He commanded us, "'Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also'" (Matthew 6:19-21, emphasis added).  This life is only a shadow of what is to come for those who have believed and repented and are on their way to heaven.

From a heavenly perspective, the very idea of becoming consumed with earthly things is ludicrous.  We'll be in heaven for billions of millennia - and we're here less than one hundred years.  What an astronomical difference!  As we spend our eternity rejoicing and praising God, we'll look back at our time on earth and think of our temporal pleasures and enjoyments, "That was so trivial."  Why spend this life hungering after the world's treasures when we're going to eternal life full of everlasting joy, living in God's presence?

The other day as I was sorting through some of my earthly possessions, I came across a hair clip I used when I was younger.  Actually, I found several hair clips, but this one in particular stood out.  It was a hot pink turtle.  I'm not really sure why I wore a hot pink turtle hair clip, but I did.  And it was important to me then.  It's so easy to be tied up in earthly pleasures, fleeting joys, and little trinkets that aren't nearly as significant as they seem to be.  But not long from now, as we're living in eternity, we'll ask ourselves, "Did I really think that was important?"