"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
So how do we lay up treasures for ourselves in Heaven? By investing ALL of ourselves in heavenly pursuits. Remember, while it is not wrong or ungodly to invest appropriately in this life by caring for our families and planning ahead for our years of old age, the rich fool’s mistake was in laying up treasure for himself while not being rich toward God (Luke 12:21).
Here are some ways to invest ourselves in Heaven—none of which will be any great surprise, but valuable to think about. They are grouped, based on areas of life we are to be stewards of what God has entrusted to our care.
Physically. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” Because our bodies belong to God we will be held accountable for how we cared for, and used them. Therefore, let us take care of our physical bodies, the temple in which God is pleased to dwell.
Relationally. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). Every relationship is different (spouses, parent/child, other relatives, friends, etc.). Therefore, we do not invest ourselves in every relationship in exactly the same manner, but let us be diligent as is severally appropriate to be the best (fill in the blank with each relationship) we can be to the glory of Christ.
Mentally, emotionally, & spiritually. That God promises to guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7), is a reminder that our hearts and minds matter. We have a responsibility to be wise stewards of our hearts and minds. This includes, but is not limited to: (a) always be learning, and (b) being cautious about what we let into our hearts and minds via our eyes and ears. It also means disciplining our minds to reject sinful thoughts, and being careful not to give our hearts over to desires that are not God-honoring. And since emotions are often affected by our physical health, it means taking care of ourselves physically as well.
Chronologically (time). Ephesians 5:16 bids us to, “redeem the time for the days are evil.” Stated differently, make the most of, and invest our time wisely because our days are limited. Regardless of the fact that we are all given a different number of years, we are all given 7 days in each week and 24 hours in each day. Stewardship requires that we invest our time wisely. We all make time for the things that truly matter to us. Work and play are important, but investing our time in heavenly pursuits means investing time in spiritual activities. I trust we can make a list of such activities without me providing one here.
Financially and materially. This is likely what most of us think of first when it comes to stewardship. The items listed above are often not even thought of. Besides taking care of the material items God gives us, financial and material stewardship begins with knowing that everything we have belongs to God, and that we will all give an account to Him for what we do with what is His (Matthew 25:14-19). This means giving proportionally (1 Corinthians 16:1-2), cheerfully, generously, and sacrificially (2 Corinthians 6:1-3 , 9:5-7). But stewardship does not end with what we give. It also means remembering that we are no less accountable for what we do with the portion of what we keep.