“Where is my treasure and what do I love most in life?”
Proverbs 2:1-8
"My child, if you accept my words
and treasure up my commandments within you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 if you indeed cry out for insight,
and raise your voice for understanding;
4 if you seek it like silver,
and search for it as for hidden treasures—
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly,
8 guarding the paths of justice and preserving the way of his faithful ones.”
Matthew 6:31-34
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Reflection:
Proverbs 2 (NLT) certainly latched on to the notion of treasure, mentioning it three times in the first seven verses. It begins with a somewhat ambiguous idea of “treasuring my commands”. It’s difficult for myself, and I imagine most who value independence, to hear that with any sort of joy. I have the head knowledge that’s been almost autonomically instilled since youth that God’s commands are for our own good. Yet that’s more of a distant droning then something that fills my heart and overflows with vitality. Thankfully there is another image that begins to form with a few of the following invitations.
The subsequent request is to “Tune your ears to wisdom and concentrate on understanding”. I like the image of an instrument (or body) that is functioning, but not in its most ideal form. It’s beautiful, but with a small adjustment it can resonate beauty. If it could just shift slightly there would be a new perspective that brings it in harmony with the world around it. The writer seems to be asking for a volition that moves us from a point of stasis to awareness. Following, are several more verbs beckoning an intentionality: “Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.” Interestingly, all the requested actions for finding “treasure” can be accomplished without going anywhere. The shift is in our mind, heart, and soul and likely requires the catalyst of a routine disruption to recognize it.
It seems the author knew how difficult it might be to make such a shift towards awareness, so they request “Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.” Or maybe a more helpful/relevant way to view that for myself is to say, search for them with the same vigor that you would pursue a promotion, bonus, or respect within your field/profession.
The third reference, “Treasure of common sense” doesn’t feel much like a treasure, but maybe it’s because I/we have too high of expectations for what a treasure should be. The movies we watched as children showed it as something glorious that fulfilled our wildest dreams. (Consider Goonies for those in my age bracket). Maybe the broad qualitative spectrum for treasure introduced in the proverbs passage points to an idea. Maybe the key to finding your treasure is simply the ability to see something as a treasure.
Howard Thurman poses the question “Where is my treasure and what do I love most in life?”, and it seems to emerge from an internal struggle of knowing how to see or gain perspective. Whatever the treasure may be, if we can’t recognize it in breadth it’s lost to complacency. My greatest joys in life are often the seemingly smallest moments wholly recognized for the beauty they carry. I don’t believe there’s any one treasure that I’ll land on, but maybe the word treasure could be substituted with the phrase - being present and fully aware of the fullness that surrounds me/you. In this way treasure is never something I own, it’s a state of mind that can be readily available anytime I’m aware or tuned to find it.
- Reflection by Eric Hughes.
Eric Hughes is an architect in Houston, Texas. He currently attends The Episcopal Church. On weekends, you’ll likely find Eric outside with his 2 year old, Clark, and wife Emily, or taking the opportunity to get his hands dirty with landscaping, woodworking, and home renovation projects.
The Way of Beauty:
Reflect on a kaleidoscope and how it creates beautiful treasure in our vision out of everyday objects. These curious and ever-changing scopes turn simple objects into beauty. By placing any subject in front of the kaleidoscope, one can magnify the beauty of anything. Imagine the beauty of God’s gaze at the many components of your life. Your ever-changing life is a constant work of artful beauty, gifted by our Creator.
Enjoy this two hour long kaleidoscope video for at least five minutes:
The Contemplative Mystical Way:
Locate an object that you really value. Hold it in your hands if you can or simply gaze upon it. Take about 5 mins to really notice it. Pay attention to all of the object’s characteristics (size, shape, color, etc.) Notice things about the object you have never noticed before. Try to see it afresh. Tell yourself the story of how you acquired this object? Ask yourself why is it so valuable? Thank God for this gift.
The Way of Practical Action:
Write a letter to your parents, even if they have died. Consider what you treasure in them, let them know.
Prayer:
Our hearts are open to You, loving Father; we come to You as children, meek and lowly. We beg You to help the doctors who work to find a cure. We beg You to help our leaders to put away childish things, to forget political advantage, and to be good stewards of their people. We beg You to help us to be wise ourselves and to care for human life in the least of those around us. We cry out to You as One Who only heals and redeems. Heal Your people, the humanity of this earth, cleanse us and strengthen us toward You. We are weak, but You are strong, and in our weakness, Your strength is revealed. Help us, we beg You, in the Name of Your Son, the Great Physician, Who, together with You and our Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Are due all glory and honor, to the ages of ages.
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