"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12:32–34 (RSV)
The First Commandment - You shall have no other gods.
What does this mean? We are to fear, love, and trust God above all things
My Dad had his first heart attack at forty-three. Thankfully, it wasn't a severe episode. His heart had very little damage. He was home from hospital in a few days. The first follow-up visit with his doctor was a challenge for him. Dad smoked three packs a day and had done so since he entered the army years before.
His doctor looked over the charts and tests, then said to Dad, "You are a fortunate man. This heart attack was a warning. You need to make changes, now, or the next time it may not go so well." Dad must have made some half-hearted promise about trying harder. The doctor looked him straight in the eye, "if you don't quit smoking today, you will probably die the next time."
He did that day quit smoking. As far as I know, he never lit another cigarette for the rest of his life. I am glad that I was already married, and living in the Twin Cities for life was not pleasant for the first weeks of his quitting. Anyone who has ever smoked and quit will understand. Your body loves the nicotine, wants the nicotine, craves the nicotine. It punishes you for denying its nicotine. Your body wants its god back.
Jesus is not against owning possessions. He does warn us about letting the things we own get in the way of loving and serving God. Our Father desires that we have all the blessings of His Kingdom. Those blessings will be more incredible than we could begin to imagine. They will be far greater than any treasure we cling to in this life.
Jesus would have us shed anything that we worship in place of God. I know that is a fearful thing even to contemplate. Yet, things become the object of our worship, and we become forgetful of God the Father. Jesus puts it plainly; what we treasure is too easily our god.
The Father wants to give us the Kingdom. He wants us to worship the only One worthy of worship.
We are entering the most 'stuff' oriented time of the year. We are encouraged to spend and get as much as we can. We are treading on perilous ground these days. Let your heart be focused on the Father and Him only. Soon you will discover that all things will indeed one day, be yours.