"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 (ESV)"Christ does not say that the man who will not lay up treasures on earth will *therefore* lay up treasures in heaven; no, he says the reverse: the man who lays up treasures in heaven is the one who does not lay up treasures on earth. The heavenly-mindedness comes first; the disentanglement from earthly goods follows. The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. And the violence is this: that a man's heart must be broken in order that it may be bound to God."
-- Søren Kierkegaard, *Christian Discourses*
"There is a difference between having a right to earthly things and having a right to set one's heart upon them. A man may have a right to his money, his lands, his house, his family, and yet not have a right to set his heart upon them supremely. He has no such right. These things are given for this world only, and his heart must not cleave to them as his chief good. God never gave these earthly enjoyments to be the portion of the soul."
-- Jonathan Edwards, *Charity and Its Fruits*
"If anyone wishes to be purified from these things, let them consider that the Word of God is the refiner's fire and the fuller's soap. Let them seek the wisdom that comes from above, which begins with the forsaking of earthly things. For just as the ore is melted in the furnace to separate the gold from the dross, so the soul, when it has been kindled with longing for heavenly things, separates itself from the love of the world and is drawn upward to God. And this separation is not a single event but a continual process, for the fire must remain hot and the ore must remain in the crucible until the Refiner sees His own image reflected in it."
-- Origen, *Homilies on Leviticus* 4.8
"Beware of the temptation to make a virtue of the mere outward renunciation of things while keeping the heart attached to them in a hidden way. The true work of grace is not to strip the hands but to detach the heart. There are those who have given away much and yet cling more tightly than ever to what remains. The discipline of detachment is not measured by what you leave behind, but by what possesses you still. Ask yourself not what you have surrendered, but what you fear to lose. That fear is the thread that binds you. And until it is cut -- not by your own effort alone, but by the quiet, persistent work of God's Spirit in your inmost will -- you have only rearranged your chains."
-- François Fénelon, *Christian Perfection*
What would your decisions this week look like if your treasure were already secure in heaven and nothing on earth could add to it or take from it?
"Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: 'Is this the condition that I feared?' It is precisely in times of security that the soul should toughen itself beforehand for occasions of greater stress, and while Fortune is kind, strengthen itself against her violence. In days of peace the soldier performs maneuvers, throws up earthworks against no enemy, and wearies himself by unnecessary toil in order to be equal to necessary toil. If you would not have a man flinch when the crisis comes, train him before it comes."
-- Seneca, *Epistles* 18.5-6
St. Clair, MI -- Sunny, 51°F, Humidity 94%, Wind ↖6mph