There have been a lot of debate about the socioeconomic divisions in the United States, where the middle class is slowly fading away and the gap between the extremely wealthy and those in poverty is increasing. People begin to describe America as a nation of “haves” and “have nots.” Others paint a more auspicious vision of America as a country of “haves” and “soon-to-haves.” Is this the American dream? Is this what young students should strive to achieve? Do we teach our kids to study hard and work diligently to one day obtain vast wealth and material possessions? Is this our ultimate goal in life?

Many organizations and movements heavily criticize the voluptuous celebrities and business tycoons we see on the media; Occupy Wallstreet, the 99%, and the recent political attacks on Mitt Romney’s tax returns to name a few. But are lavish lifestyles truly something we should be pursuing throughout our lives? If we could, would we want to trade our lives with someone like Donald Trump?

I remember a story from the Bible, where a rich man reaped a great harvest from his lands. He had so much grain that he had no more room for it in his storage houses. Then, he decided to build huge storage houses to store his grain and live off it for the rest of his life. He had planned out a lavish life for himself. That night God asked, “what will happen to all your possessions if you die tonight?” Surely, the mountains of grain and wealth he had stored up for himself will be taken by others and eaten by rats. Do we take our material gains on this earth to heaven? Of course not.

When a man (or woman) dies, he leaves everything behind, no matter how powerful or wealthy he is. So all the mansions, cars, and luxuries a person stores up for himself (or herself) on this earth is fleeting and temporary. The only lasting treasures are stored up in heaven where “moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matt 6:20)

I thought about this a lot, and when it came time to choose a career path, I had to make a decision. I could have chosen a more lucrative path and pursue a life of luxuries and material gain, but this story really influenced me to think differently. Anything we store up on this earth is ephemeral and can even be a burden on our lives.

I remember a time in college when I had my expensive Macbook laptop in my backpack, and I couldn’t leave the classroom to go to the bathroom because I was paranoid that someone would try to steal it. But when I had nothing but notebooks and pencils in my backpack, I could just throw it on an empty seat and leave to get some lunch with peace of mind.

The idea here is that money and wealth isn’t something we should all aggressively pursue. Nothing in this world lasts and is always consumed or destroyed in a matter of time. I don’t care how high-tech your iPhone is or what brand name your car is from, all these things have an expiration date. Even people have expiration dates. The greatest figures in human history all died and passed away, no matter how amazing, powerful, or influential they were. The truth of the matter is that this earth and anything on it is temporary, fleeting. That’s why Solomon, a king who was wise, wealthy, powerful, and in the company of countless women, wrote in Ecclesiastes that everything is meaningless.

However, God is eternal and heaven is eternal. Have you ever heard of those everlasting flashlights that never need to have batteries? When I saw that for the first time, I was amazed. Imagine how mind blowing it was for me to imagine an eternal heaven and an eternal God (and Jesus) who we will live with forever. So instead of aspiring to be wealthy on this earth, we should focus on storing our treasures in heaven and pursue God’ Word and His rewards for us. Let’s all be rich in heaven, in the name of Jesus. =D