Moths, Vermin, and Thieves - The Wesleyan Church

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6:21)

In 2017, 161 million people were affected when hackers attacked Equifax, a credit bureau. They found names, account numbers, ATM PINs, and other personal information. While one-third of American adults have experienced identity theft, people mostly are unwilling to live life “off the grid.” Life in the twenty-first century is a quest for security, a race between those who want to steal data and others who want to protect it. For those of us who don’t understand all the math or computer science, it is fantastical to imagine the unseen battle raging around us.

Jesus spoke to the security concerns of his day too, the moths and vermin that threatened people’s food, clothing, and shelter. He wisely reminded us, though, that in the end we cannot protect this world’s things forever. Moths, vermin, and thieves threaten, and will often win, and we can’t take them with us.

We must work to put our treasure elsewhere. We must change our priorities, tune our hearts to treasure different things. We must learn to care deeply about the truth first. We must learn how to love others and invest in them rather than use our wealth to protect ourselves. We must see the ways in which our wealth can serve God’s purposes and put it there so that it can bear eternal fruit.

Consider where your security truly lies.

Michael Jordan is the dean of the chapel at Houghton College (New York), where he also serves as chair of the department of biblical studies, theology, and philosophy.