我們新蓋好的房子，因為電路安裝不良而引發大火，在短短一個小時內，熊熊烈火就把房子付諸一炬，除了碎石瓦礫，一無所剩。還有一次，我們一家參加主日崇拜後回家，發現房鎖被人撬開，好些財物被竊。

在這個不完美的世界，物質的損失已司空見慣，例如車輛遭竊或被撞毀、船隻沉沒、大樓坍塌、房屋淹水、個人財物被偷等等。所以耶穌告誡我們，不要將心放在屬世的財寶上（馬太福音6章19節） 。

耶穌說了一個比喻，提到一個積攢豐富財寶的人，決定為自己收藏好所有財物（路加福音12章16-21節） 。那人對自己說：「只管安安逸逸地吃喝快樂吧！」（19節） 但就在當晚，那人失去了所有，包括自己的性命。最後，耶穌說：「凡為自己積財，在上帝面前卻不富足的，也是這樣。」（21節）

世上的財富轉眼成空。除了上帝賜給我們能力去為他人所做的事之外，沒有一件事物可以長存。所以，我們要獻出時間和資源去宣揚福音、探訪孤獨無依的人，以及幫助有需要的人，這些都是積攢財富在天上的眾多方式之一（馬太福音6章20節） 。

Poorly installed electric wiring caused a fire that burned down our newly built home. The flames leveled our house within an hour, leaving nothing but rubble. Another time, we returned home from church one Sunday to find our house had been broken into and some of our possessions stolen.

In our imperfect world, loss of material wealth is all too common—vehicles are stolen or crashed, ships sink, buildings crumble, homes are flooded, and personal belongings are stolen. This makes Jesus’ admonition not to put our trust in earthly wealth very meaningful (Matt. 6:19).

Jesus told a story of a man who accumulated abundant treasures and decided to store up everything for himself (Luke 12:16-21). “Take life easy,” the man told himself; “eat, drink and be merry” (v. 19). But that night he lost everything, including his life. In conclusion, Jesus said, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (v. 21).

Material wealth is temporary. Nothing lasts forever—except what our God enables us to do for others. Giving of our time and resources to spread the good news, visiting those who are lonely, and helping those in need are just some of the many ways to store up treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:20).