“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

This is today’s verse of the day on BibleGateway, a website I often use for looking up Scripture. While I don’t love their app, I like the regular desktop interface for it and use it whenever I’m needing Bible references while on a computer. Anyway, as I read through this verse, it reminded me of another passage earlier in the book of Matthew (specifically, 4:1-4):

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus is demonstrating what it means to lay up treasures in heaven by also focusing on the necessary food for all of us – the Word of God. I will never be someone who uses fasting as a regular practice (health wise, it is actually problematic for me). But there’s still a priority order to things. First God, then food.

I don’t have a hard time with that order, except for coffee. Oh, my beloved coffee. When I wake in the morning, it’s the first thing I reach for. Not the Bible (whether online, an app, or a physical book). Nope, it’s the coffee. I’m starting to recognize the way that I’ve given it first place in my life. Perhaps the quote from Jesus should be re-written for me: “Stephanie shall not live by coffee alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” I know it’s something I need to work on.

What I love is that Jesus doesn’t discount the value of bread. He doesn’t say to stop eating it. But it’s about where the bread falls in importance. If we are relying only on bread (or coffee) for sustenance, we’re missing something really important. That’s what it means to lay up treasures in heaven.

January is one of those benchmark times where we all attempt to make personal improvements. I’m working on incorporating exercise and healthy eating into my habits, and creating routines for keeping up with my house. But maybe the first thing needs to be my walk with God, spending time each morning in the Word.