What Treasure Will There Be?

Isaiah 39:8 "The word of the LORD you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime."

In this chapter of Isaiah, Hezekiah is revelling in his extended life. God granted him 15 additional years of life following a grave illness. Rather than purposing to put that time to good use for God and His kingdom, Hezekiah chose to proudly display all the riches of his kingdom to rulers around him. Basically, he exposed everything that was precious to the prying eyes of those who would later seek to take it all away.

When Isaiah came to warn Hezekiah that what he had done was foolish, Hezekiah basically responded with little regard for the future. He was only concerned with what affected him - the here and now. I can almost hear him now saying, "Well, at least it will be good and safe while I am alive - let the others deal with what comes in the future."

How like that I can be. Concerned with the here and now rather than thinking about what treasures I have exposed to those who would rob my children, my grandchildren and those who come after me. Oh I am not necessarily talking about treasures such as the world seeks, such as money and property. I am talking about the treasures of walking humbly before God, of living a life of integrity, of following hard after truth. All of those treasures I have consistently over time allowed others to steal away from me. I have not guarded my treasure. Nor have I really thought long and hard about what the future may be because of those choices.

I do believe that God intends for us to live in the here and now. I know that we cannot foresee what challenges and trials face us in the future. But, I do believe that God intends us to protect that which we pass down to our children against the thieves that seek to steal what is not theirs. And when we purposely expose our treasures and actually bring the enemy into our homes we risk losing everything.

We need to protect those that we love from the onslaught of the enemies around us. Wisdom says that we make choices that are pleasing to God and not to men. We do not look for ways to impress others with what we have been blessed with. We seek ways to serve our God in the here and now and yet keep a watchful eye that we do not give the enemy any foothold that would allow them to carry away our treasure.

I pray that God would forgive me for being too much like Hezekiah.