Kingdom Priorities
Where Are You Climbing? A Question About Treasure and Trust
Picture two ladders standing side by side. One represents the world—with all its opportunities, promotions, possessions, and promises of fulfillment. The other represents God and the life He calls us to live. Most of us find ourselves trying to climb both simultaneously, one foot on each ladder, attempting to balance the demands of earthly success with our desire to follow God faithfully.
This balancing act is exhausting. And dangerous.
We start out with good intentions. We learn about God, choose to follow Him, and begin investing in spiritual practices—prayer, Scripture reading, church involvement. But then life accelerates. Careers demand more time. Opportunities for advancement appear. The cultural rat race pulls us in. Before we realize it, we're straddling two worlds, trying desperately to keep everyone happy: our bosses, our families, our communities, and God.
The problem? Living divided like this doesn't just harm us—it confuses everyone watching us.
The Treasure Question
In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus addresses this tension directly: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and vermin do not destroy, where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Jesus isn't condemning prosperity or success. He's diagnosing a heart condition.
We live in a culture of "one-itis"—we see something and immediately want it. The neighbor's new house. The latest technology. The promotion that promises status and security. We fall into comparison traps constantly, measuring our lives against everyone else's highlight reels.
There's nothing inherently wrong with wanting better circumstances or hoping our children have opportunities we didn't. The danger comes when accumulation becomes our focus, when possessions define our identity, when the pursuit of more replaces the pursuit of God.
Here's the sobering reality: when we're gone, none of it comes with us. The truck stays here. The house remains. The bank account gets distributed. As the saying goes, "The man who has the most toys still loses."
So what can we take to heaven? Only people.
Our job, simply put, is to make heaven crowded. This shifts everything. Instead of focusing on acquiring things that will decay or be stolen, we're called to invest in relationships that have eternal significance. We're called to share the good news that God desires a relationship with every person, that heaven is real, and that knowing Jesus changes everything.
The Two Masters Problem
Jesus continues in Matthew 6:24: "No one can serve two masters. Either you hate the one or you love the other. Or you are devoted to the one and you despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Money serves as Jesus's example, but it's really a placeholder. The principle applies to anything we allow to stand between us and God. What controls your decisions? What dictates your schedule? What determines your priorities?
For many families today, youth sports have become an unintentional idol. The opportunities are wonderful, but when tournament schedules consistently pull families away from worship and spiritual community, something has shifted. The activity itself isn't bad—but when it runs our lives rather than us managing it within proper boundaries, it becomes problematic.
The same applies to careers. Providing for your family is biblical and necessary. But when extra shifts consistently replace church involvement, when promotions require sacrificing spiritual health, when work becomes the primary source of identity and worth, we've crossed a line.
Whatever your "thing" is—and we all have one—the question remains: Are you ruling over it, or is it ruling you?
The Worry Trap
In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus addresses the anxiety that accompanies divided loyalties: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?"
Jesus points to birds and flowers as evidence of God's faithful provision. If the Father cares for sparrows and adorns wildflowers with beauty, won't He care infinitely more for His children?
This doesn't mean life will be easy or that legitimate concerns don't exist. Bills come due. Health crises arise. Relationships fracture. Each day brings its own troubles. But worry—that consuming anxiety that dominates our thoughts and drives our decisions—reveals where we're placing our trust.
Sometimes what we perceive as problems are actually answers to someone else's prayers. Summer rain might cancel plans, but it provides for farmers whose livelihoods depend on it. Our inconvenience serves a greater purpose we cannot see.
God knows every stress we carry. He's not distant or disinterested. He walks with us through difficulties, even when His presence feels imperceptible. The question isn't whether He cares—Scripture assures us He does. The question is whether we'll trust Him enough to surrender our worries and walk forward in faith.
The Trust Question
Ultimately, everything Jesus addresses in this passage comes down to one fundamental question: Do you trust Me?
Not "Do you believe I exist?" or "Do you attend church?" but "Do you trust Me enough to live differently than the world lives? Do you trust Me with your finances, your career, your family, your future?"
This isn't a question anyone else can answer for you. It's deeply personal, requiring honest self-examination. Where are you truly climbing? Which ladder receives your primary focus and energy?
Living fully for God means filtering every decision, every opportunity, every worry through your relationship with Him. It means seeking His kingdom first, trusting that everything else will fall into proper place. It means focusing on eternal investments—people and relationships—rather than temporary accumulations.
Your Next Step
Perhaps you're reading this and recognizing the divided life you've been living. Maybe you've been trying to straddle two ladders, and the strain is showing. Or possibly you want to trust God more fully but don't know how to begin.
The invitation is simple: take one step. Choose today to focus on the relationship God offers. Surrender one worry. Adjust one priority. Share your faith story with one person. Let tomorrow's troubles wait for tomorrow.
God isn't asking for perfection. He's asking for trust. He's inviting you to climb the ladder that leads somewhere eternal, to invest in treasures that last, to live with the freedom that comes from serving only one Master.
The world's ladder promises much but delivers emptiness. God's ladder leads to abundant life—both now and forever.
Which one will you choose?
Picture two ladders standing side by side. One represents the world—with all its opportunities, promotions, possessions, and promises of fulfillment. The other represents God and the life He calls us to live. Most of us find ourselves trying to climb both simultaneously, one foot on each ladder, attempting to balance the demands of earthly success with our desire to follow God faithfully.
This balancing act is exhausting. And dangerous.
We start out with good intentions. We learn about God, choose to follow Him, and begin investing in spiritual practices—prayer, Scripture reading, church involvement. But then life accelerates. Careers demand more time. Opportunities for advancement appear. The cultural rat race pulls us in. Before we realize it, we're straddling two worlds, trying desperately to keep everyone happy: our bosses, our families, our communities, and God.
The problem? Living divided like this doesn't just harm us—it confuses everyone watching us.
The Treasure Question
In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus addresses this tension directly: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and vermin do not destroy, where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Jesus isn't condemning prosperity or success. He's diagnosing a heart condition.
We live in a culture of "one-itis"—we see something and immediately want it. The neighbor's new house. The latest technology. The promotion that promises status and security. We fall into comparison traps constantly, measuring our lives against everyone else's highlight reels.
There's nothing inherently wrong with wanting better circumstances or hoping our children have opportunities we didn't. The danger comes when accumulation becomes our focus, when possessions define our identity, when the pursuit of more replaces the pursuit of God.
Here's the sobering reality: when we're gone, none of it comes with us. The truck stays here. The house remains. The bank account gets distributed. As the saying goes, "The man who has the most toys still loses."
So what can we take to heaven? Only people.
Our job, simply put, is to make heaven crowded. This shifts everything. Instead of focusing on acquiring things that will decay or be stolen, we're called to invest in relationships that have eternal significance. We're called to share the good news that God desires a relationship with every person, that heaven is real, and that knowing Jesus changes everything.
The Two Masters Problem
Jesus continues in Matthew 6:24: "No one can serve two masters. Either you hate the one or you love the other. Or you are devoted to the one and you despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Money serves as Jesus's example, but it's really a placeholder. The principle applies to anything we allow to stand between us and God. What controls your decisions? What dictates your schedule? What determines your priorities?
For many families today, youth sports have become an unintentional idol. The opportunities are wonderful, but when tournament schedules consistently pull families away from worship and spiritual community, something has shifted. The activity itself isn't bad—but when it runs our lives rather than us managing it within proper boundaries, it becomes problematic.
The same applies to careers. Providing for your family is biblical and necessary. But when extra shifts consistently replace church involvement, when promotions require sacrificing spiritual health, when work becomes the primary source of identity and worth, we've crossed a line.
Whatever your "thing" is—and we all have one—the question remains: Are you ruling over it, or is it ruling you?
The Worry Trap
In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus addresses the anxiety that accompanies divided loyalties: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?"
Jesus points to birds and flowers as evidence of God's faithful provision. If the Father cares for sparrows and adorns wildflowers with beauty, won't He care infinitely more for His children?
This doesn't mean life will be easy or that legitimate concerns don't exist. Bills come due. Health crises arise. Relationships fracture. Each day brings its own troubles. But worry—that consuming anxiety that dominates our thoughts and drives our decisions—reveals where we're placing our trust.
Sometimes what we perceive as problems are actually answers to someone else's prayers. Summer rain might cancel plans, but it provides for farmers whose livelihoods depend on it. Our inconvenience serves a greater purpose we cannot see.
God knows every stress we carry. He's not distant or disinterested. He walks with us through difficulties, even when His presence feels imperceptible. The question isn't whether He cares—Scripture assures us He does. The question is whether we'll trust Him enough to surrender our worries and walk forward in faith.
The Trust Question
Ultimately, everything Jesus addresses in this passage comes down to one fundamental question: Do you trust Me?
Not "Do you believe I exist?" or "Do you attend church?" but "Do you trust Me enough to live differently than the world lives? Do you trust Me with your finances, your career, your family, your future?"
This isn't a question anyone else can answer for you. It's deeply personal, requiring honest self-examination. Where are you truly climbing? Which ladder receives your primary focus and energy?
Living fully for God means filtering every decision, every opportunity, every worry through your relationship with Him. It means seeking His kingdom first, trusting that everything else will fall into proper place. It means focusing on eternal investments—people and relationships—rather than temporary accumulations.
Your Next Step
Perhaps you're reading this and recognizing the divided life you've been living. Maybe you've been trying to straddle two ladders, and the strain is showing. Or possibly you want to trust God more fully but don't know how to begin.
The invitation is simple: take one step. Choose today to focus on the relationship God offers. Surrender one worry. Adjust one priority. Share your faith story with one person. Let tomorrow's troubles wait for tomorrow.
God isn't asking for perfection. He's asking for trust. He's inviting you to climb the ladder that leads somewhere eternal, to invest in treasures that last, to live with the freedom that comes from serving only one Master.
The world's ladder promises much but delivers emptiness. God's ladder leads to abundant life—both now and forever.
Which one will you choose?
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