Luke 12:22-34 Pentecost 9
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
August 10, 2025
Your Treasure Shows What You Love I don’t watch the World Series of Poker, but I know enough about how poker is played and that players will watch the faces and behaviors of their competitors to see if they can figure out what’s in their hands or if they are bluffing or not. They’re looking for a “tell,” something that gives away what’s going on in their hands and inside their minds. There are certain things on the outside that will give away what’s going on on the inside. Something like that happens with us. Jesus says that there are certain “tells,” like worry and chasing after worldly treasures, that tip God off to the spiritual condition of our heart. He says, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And because Jesus loves us, he steers us away from that worry and those fears today as he gently reasons with us and pushes us to think about God’s loving care for us—both physically and spiritually. He wants us to trust in him and to value heavenly treasure, not the things of this world. Worldly People As Jesus spoke to his disciples about heavenly treasures, he commented on what unbelieving people see as treasure and how they pursue those things. It’s the food and drink and clothes and their lives in general. It’s not that those things are wrong all by themselves, but it’s people’s attitudes toward them, the place they are given on the heart’s priority list, that can be a problem. People who do not have hearts tuned to God are inwardly focused. Jesus says that they chase after these things for themselves. Think about that for a moment. Does it make sense that they would do that? Of course, it does! Without God, what else do they have? Who else would they live for? They have only themselves. Their desires. Things they want. Things that are around for a while but go away. Things that will not be going with them when they die. People who do not believe in God are very different than people who do. Without the confidence that a loving God is providing for them, it is all up to them to get it done, to make it happen, to acquire the things they need or want. They need to do it or find the people who will help them. Will they get what they want? Will they find someone to help? Will it be enough? They’re left hanging there, suspended between worry and hope, not knowing, unsure, afraid, constantly chasing.