Building Your Life on God's Blueprint: Where Is Your Treasure?
When an architect designs a home, they create a blueprint—a detailed plan that ensures the house will be built safely, efficiently, and according to a specific vision. Without this plan, builders would waste resources, make costly mistakes, and potentially create a structure that could collapse under pressure. The blueprint isn't just helpful; it's essential for a home that will stand the test of time.
Our lives need a blueprint too. And the good news is that God has already designed one for us.
The Foundation That Holds
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches about what kingdom life looks like. He doesn't just give abstract principles; He provides a concrete plan for how to live in a way that brings true fulfillment, peace, and purpose. At the end of His teaching, Jesus makes it clear: we need to build our lives on the rock—on His words, on God's truth, on Him.
But here's what many people misunderstand: building your life on God's plan doesn't mean life will be easy or storm-free. Jesus never promises that following Him will eliminate difficulties. What He does promise is that when the storms come—and they will come—those who have built their lives on His foundation will be able to withstand them.
The difference isn't in whether storms arrive, but in how you handle them when they do.
The Competing Master
In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus addresses one of the most powerful competing forces in our lives: money. He says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Then Jesus makes an even bolder statement: "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Money isn't evil in itself—we need it to survive in this world, and God knows that. But money becomes dangerous when it shifts from being a tool to being a master. When we start storing up treasures on earth out of fear, greed, or the belief that accumulating more will bring us happiness, we've fallen into a trap that will never satisfy.
The key word Jesus uses is "store up." This speaks to an anxious hoarding, a fearful accumulation driven by the belief that we must secure our own future through our own efforts. It's about what we worship, what we trust in, what we depend on.
Where Your Treasure Is
Jesus says that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. This is a diagnostic statement. Want to know what you truly value? Look at what you sacrifice for. Look at where you invest your time, energy, and resources.
Are you sacrificing your relationship with your spouse because you're working more hours to earn more money? Are you missing out on precious time with your children because you think providing material things is the same as providing presence? Are you neglecting your relationship with God because you're too busy pursuing the temporary things of this world?
These are hard questions, but they're necessary ones.
The early church understood this principle beautifully. In Acts 2, we see believers who devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to breaking bread, and to prayer. They weren't focused on accumulating possessions. In fact, they sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. They met together daily, ate together with glad and sincere hearts, and praised God.
And what was the result? "The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
When a community gets its priorities right—when people invest in God, in relationships, in the eternal rather than the temporary—God moves powerfully.
Getting Your Vision Right
Jesus uses the metaphor of the eye to talk about focus and vision. "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness."
What are your eyes focused on? Are they constantly looking at what others have, coveting their possessions, their lifestyle, their success? Are you scrolling through social media, comparing your life to carefully curated highlight reels, feeling like you're always falling short?
Or are your eyes focused on God's kingdom, on what truly matters, on the eternal rather than the temporary?
Getting your vision right means focusing on the most important things: your relationship with God first, then your relationship with your spouse, then investing in your children and teaching them what a healthy, God-centered life looks like. It means building a community where people matter more than possessions.
Freedom from Anxiety
After teaching about treasures and masters, Jesus addresses the anxiety that so often accompanies our relationship with money and provision. He says, "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 the birds of the air, who don't sow or reap or store in barns, yet the heavenly Father feeds them. He points to the flowers of the field, which don't labor or spin, yet are clothed more beautifully than Solomon in all his splendor.
Then comes the key verse: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
This isn't an excuse to be lazy or irresponsible. God calls us to work hard and to be good stewards of what He's given us. But it is a call to trust—to believe that when we prioritize God's kingdom, when we align our plans with His plans, He will provide for our needs.
A Practical Path Forward
So what does this look like practically? It starts with creating a financial plan that reflects kingdom priorities. Consider the 10-10-80 principle: give 10% to God's work and to helping others, save 10% for the future and emergencies, and live on 80%.
This might require making difficult choices. You might need to cut back on things you don't truly need. You might need to focus on paying off debt systematically, freeing yourself from the burden of financial bondage. You might need to learn to be content with what you have rather than constantly striving for more.
But here's the beautiful truth: as you take steps to trust God with your finances, as you prioritize people over possessions and the eternal over the temporary, you'll find a freedom you never knew was possible. The anxiety will begin to lift. The constant striving will ease. You'll discover that life is about so much more than accumulating stuff.
The Richest Person in Town
There's a profound scene in the classic film "It's a Wonderful Life" where George Bailey, who has spent his life investing in people rather than pursuing wealth, finds himself in crisis. He thinks he's worth more dead than alive because of an insurance policy. But in the end, he discovers that his true wealth was never in his bank account—it was in the relationships he'd built, the lives he'd touched, the community he'd served.
His brother raises a toast: "To my big brother George, the richest man in town."
He was rich because he had invested in what mattered. He had stored up treasures in heaven.
Your Choice Today
God has a plan for your life—a blueprint that's better than anything you could design on your own. His plan includes hope and a future, as He promised through the prophet Jeremiah: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).
But you have to choose. Will you trust in God's plan or continue to follow the world's way? Will you serve God or money? Will you store up treasures on earth or treasures in heaven?
The storms of life will come either way. But those who build their lives on the rock, who align their plans with God's plans, who invest in the eternal rather than the temporary—they will stand firm. They will find peace in the midst of chaos. They will discover that true wealth isn't measured in dollars but in relationships, in purpose, in the knowledge that they're living for something that will last forever.
Where is your treasure today? Your answer to that question will determine the trajectory of your life.
When an architect designs a home, they create a blueprint—a detailed plan that ensures the house will be built safely, efficiently, and according to a specific vision. Without this plan, builders would waste resources, make costly mistakes, and potentially create a structure that could collapse under pressure. The blueprint isn't just helpful; it's essential for a home that will stand the test of time.
Our lives need a blueprint too. And the good news is that God has already designed one for us.
The Foundation That Holds
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches about what kingdom life looks like. He doesn't just give abstract principles; He provides a concrete plan for how to live in a way that brings true fulfillment, peace, and purpose. At the end of His teaching, Jesus makes it clear: we need to build our lives on the rock—on His words, on God's truth, on Him.
But here's what many people misunderstand: building your life on God's plan doesn't mean life will be easy or storm-free. Jesus never promises that following Him will eliminate difficulties. What He does promise is that when the storms come—and they will come—those who have built their lives on His foundation will be able to withstand them.
The difference isn't in whether storms arrive, but in how you handle them when they do.
The Competing Master
In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus addresses one of the most powerful competing forces in our lives: money. He says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Then Jesus makes an even bolder statement: "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Money isn't evil in itself—we need it to survive in this world, and God knows that. But money becomes dangerous when it shifts from being a tool to being a master. When we start storing up treasures on earth out of fear, greed, or the belief that accumulating more will bring us happiness, we've fallen into a trap that will never satisfy.
The key word Jesus uses is "store up." This speaks to an anxious hoarding, a fearful accumulation driven by the belief that we must secure our own future through our own efforts. It's about what we worship, what we trust in, what we depend on.
Where Your Treasure Is
Jesus says that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. This is a diagnostic statement. Want to know what you truly value? Look at what you sacrifice for. Look at where you invest your time, energy, and resources.
Are you sacrificing your relationship with your spouse because you're working more hours to earn more money? Are you missing out on precious time with your children because you think providing material things is the same as providing presence? Are you neglecting your relationship with God because you're too busy pursuing the temporary things of this world?
These are hard questions, but they're necessary ones.
The early church understood this principle beautifully. In Acts 2, we see believers who devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to breaking bread, and to prayer. They weren't focused on accumulating possessions. In fact, they sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. They met together daily, ate together with glad and sincere hearts, and praised God.
And what was the result? "The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
When a community gets its priorities right—when people invest in God, in relationships, in the eternal rather than the temporary—God moves powerfully.
Getting Your Vision Right
Jesus uses the metaphor of the eye to talk about focus and vision. "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness."
What are your eyes focused on? Are they constantly looking at what others have, coveting their possessions, their lifestyle, their success? Are you scrolling through social media, comparing your life to carefully curated highlight reels, feeling like you're always falling short?
Or are your eyes focused on God's kingdom, on what truly matters, on the eternal rather than the temporary?
Getting your vision right means focusing on the most important things: your relationship with God first, then your relationship with your spouse, then investing in your children and teaching them what a healthy, God-centered life looks like. It means building a community where people matter more than possessions.
Freedom from Anxiety
After teaching about treasures and masters, Jesus addresses the anxiety that so often accompanies our relationship with money and provision. He says, "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 the birds of the air, who don't sow or reap or store in barns, yet the heavenly Father feeds them. He points to the flowers of the field, which don't labor or spin, yet are clothed more beautifully than Solomon in all his splendor.
Then comes the key verse: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
This isn't an excuse to be lazy or irresponsible. God calls us to work hard and to be good stewards of what He's given us. But it is a call to trust—to believe that when we prioritize God's kingdom, when we align our plans with His plans, He will provide for our needs.
A Practical Path Forward
So what does this look like practically? It starts with creating a financial plan that reflects kingdom priorities. Consider the 10-10-80 principle: give 10% to God's work and to helping others, save 10% for the future and emergencies, and live on 80%.
This might require making difficult choices. You might need to cut back on things you don't truly need. You might need to focus on paying off debt systematically, freeing yourself from the burden of financial bondage. You might need to learn to be content with what you have rather than constantly striving for more.
But here's the beautiful truth: as you take steps to trust God with your finances, as you prioritize people over possessions and the eternal over the temporary, you'll find a freedom you never knew was possible. The anxiety will begin to lift. The constant striving will ease. You'll discover that life is about so much more than accumulating stuff.
The Richest Person in Town
There's a profound scene in the classic film "It's a Wonderful Life" where George Bailey, who has spent his life investing in people rather than pursuing wealth, finds himself in crisis. He thinks he's worth more dead than alive because of an insurance policy. But in the end, he discovers that his true wealth was never in his bank account—it was in the relationships he'd built, the lives he'd touched, the community he'd served.
His brother raises a toast: "To my big brother George, the richest man in town."
He was rich because he had invested in what mattered. He had stored up treasures in heaven.
Your Choice Today
God has a plan for your life—a blueprint that's better than anything you could design on your own. His plan includes hope and a future, as He promised through the prophet Jeremiah: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).
But you have to choose. Will you trust in God's plan or continue to follow the world's way? Will you serve God or money? Will you store up treasures on earth or treasures in heaven?
The storms of life will come either way. But those who build their lives on the rock, who align their plans with God's plans, who invest in the eternal rather than the temporary—they will stand firm. They will find peace in the midst of chaos. They will discover that true wealth isn't measured in dollars but in relationships, in purpose, in the knowledge that they're living for something that will last forever.
Where is your treasure today? Your answer to that question will determine the trajectory of your life.
Melvin Vandiver
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