”Huwag kayong mag-impok ng mga kayamanan dito sa lupa; dito’y may naninirang insekto at kalawang, at may nakakapasok na magnanakaw.  Sa halip, mag-impok kayo ng kayamanan sa langit; doo’y walang naninirang insekto at kalawang, at walang nakakapasok na magnanakaw.  Sapagkat kung saan naroroon ang iyong kayamanan, naroroon din ang iyong puso.”  

Mateo 6:19–21 (MBB)

Merong matandang sabi-sabi na kapag inilagay mo ang palaka sa maligamgam na tubig and slowly turn up the heat, it won’t notice the rising temperature until it’s too late to jump out of the boiling water.   

According to Matthew 6:19, we will lose the value of earthly treasures over a period of time. Nasisira ito ng insekto, kinakalawang, o nananakaw. Pero may isa pang importanteng dahilan kung bakit binalaan tayo na hindi dapat gawing priority ang kayamanan. Earthly treasures can slowly destroy us, if we fix our hearts on them. Tulad ng palaka, maaari tayong maenganyo sa klase ng buhay na ang laging hinahabol ay material things instead of God. Hindi natin namamalayan na we are already taking for granted our relationship with the Lord, our family, and those who are important to us. We may be comfortable and think we are OK. But in reality, we are already in a danger zone.

So what should we do? Hindi masama ang magtrabaho or mag-invest para magkapera tayo. Magagamit pa nga natin ang ating pera to support the ministry of sharing the gospel and to help the needy. Let us just always check and make sure that our hearts are aligned with the priorities of God. In other words, let us not allow our material possessions to possess us. O baka naman na–possess na tayo nito nang hindi natin namamalayan?