Today, I saw a house for sale in the neighborhood where I go to church. It had been listed for a while, and I noted that the price had been reduced recently. So being eternally curious, I googled the house for fun and giggles to see what it was worth.

It was just shy of a million dollars. It was a nice house, but by no means spectacular. I think it had about 2600 square feet, so it wasn’t a big house. It was just a normal-sized house in a good neighborhood in the insane housing market of Nashville.

It seems that when I was growing up, a million dollars could get you a mansion. If you spent a million dollars on a house, you were rich. At least that’s what 10-year old me thought at the time.

But now money is worth less than it used to be. Back in the day, currency was based on a gold standard, but now it’s just paper. And every day that paper grows less and less valuable.

I think that’s pretty much the tale of everything that we tend to prize and value on this side of heaven. Eventually, those things depreciate. They rust, get eaten by moths and other critters, and get stolen. Technology is the worst because the top of the line product quickly becomes outdated and soon after obsolete. Soon after that, it’s junk.

But things eternal only grow in value. If you treasure what is heavenly, as the verse in Matthew 6:19-21, you will find joy both now and hereafter. If you value what the Heavenly Father values, you will find you are rich in those things that no amount of money can buy. Those are the things that truly matter.

I heard a pastor say that the streets of heaven are paved with gold, because gold up there is worth about as much as pavement down here. It would be dumb to walk around with pits of asphalt in your pocket thinking you were wealthy. In the same way, gold isn’t the true currency of heaven. Love is.

If you love God wholeheartedly and love others the way that God has loved you, you are valuing the right things. If you value possessions, remember that he who dies with the most toys is still dead, but what you take with you are those who are following and trusting in Jesus because of your faithfulness and your testimony.