But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. The heavenly treasure is secure because it exists outside the created order's entropy: no moth, no rust, no thief. The contrast is not between material and spiritual but between perishable and imperishable, between transient and permanent. 1 Timothy 6:17–19 describes the rich being instructed to be rich in good works and to lay up treasure for the coming age. Luke 12:33–34 connects the treasure in heaven to the giving away of earthly possessions: the act of generous giving is the mechanism of heavenly storage — what is released from earth is received in heaven.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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