What do you Treasure Most?

Reflecting on the last 10 years, I made two immense migrations.

The first migration in 2010 was a physical one going from living in the over-populated, urban jungle of London to the aesthetically-pleasing Caribbean tropics.

The second big motion was a metaphysical move, changing from treasuring a philosophy of moral existentialism to accepting the existence of a Creator and prioritising God’s will in my mind.

With each of the migrations spanning five years of the previous decade, I learned a great deal more about objective thinking than I could’ve ever imagined.

Just to classify, ‘objective thinking’ is the perspective that extracts one’s ego or subjectivity from the equation.

I recently played a game of Giant Size Connect-Four; a parallel of the mind’s subjective perceptions and objective processing emerged.

When playing the game, I noted that one was unable to see all the moves, regardless of how vigilant. The best players were the patient ones, who scrutinised everything.

However, when observing the game, one was able to see all the potential moves very clearly.

I summarised that this was similar to life – if the ego is involved, it’s hard to see the entire picture, but when the ego is removed, one can see so much clearer, allowing for a greater degree of empathy and also a more long-term perspective, considerate and beneficial to everyone involved.

In this decade that’s just ended, if I could summarise 2010 – 2014, I would say that my pride/ego/subjective thinking was elevated to perilous levels.

I say perilous because such a mindset lacked consistency, possessed no stability, and was based on short-term gratification/morals all toward ‘self’ preservation/survival.

Concluding the decade, 2015 – 2019, the very opposite occurred.

I was continually humbled by situations, bringing me to a place where I could see the troubles, pains, hardships, and trials of others more clearly than ever before.

Alongside being able to really, truly ‘see,’ action steps were presented to match the witnessing of this widespread sorrow.

I say the aforementioned because I was re-reading the blog below What do you Treasure Most?

I published this article on my church website back in February 2016.

It was part of an ongoing journal of the transformation I was experiencing in my decision to follow God.

It’s interesting to see where the journey began and how it has progressed.

2016 seems like so long ago…

What do you Treasure Most?

The Importance of Getting a Heart Transplant Today

 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

Receiving a heart transplant is not only for old people…and it’s honestly the most important decision we can make.

Of course, when I refer to the heart, I’m not talking about the human organ, but the definition provided by scripture used to explain our inner workings.

‘Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.’

Proverbs 4:23 ESV

The heart is the core of a person and encompasses his/her personality, emotions, beliefs, intellect, will, intentions, and moral standing. (Romans 10:9 ESV) (Hebrews 4:12 ESV)

The heart is also where our relationship with God is rooted.

I talk about a new heart because January—the month of New Year’s Resolutions—has just passed.

A New Year’s Resolution usually involves a form of improvement that may lead to a renewing of one’s thought process and performance in order to fulfil a specific ambition.

Traditionally, the resolution is also rather finite.

In comparison, a follower of Jesus’ lifestyle involves a daily renewing of the mind in keeping in step with the Holy Spirit, Who’s given us a new heart after mature baptism; our rebirth. (Ezekiel 36:25-27 ESV)

It’s this new heart that establishes the transformation of our intentions to keep our mind on Jesus and His teachings found in the New Testament.

This renewal might manifest in increased generosity, compassion, love, integrity, honesty, and humility.

Receiving a new heart from my baptism on July 26, 2015, unveiled God’s direct impact on my life.

One huge change that occurred last year, was the removal of my frown; a frown that I’ve had on my face since I was eight years old and have tried to get rid of for 22 years with positive thinking, New Year’s Resolutions, and other mental techniques that all failed.

Last year, that frown disappeared during the summer. It felt like the peace that I’ve been seeking my whole life had finally started to emerge.

Another affect of my ‘new heart’ was being able to surrender the exercise of Friday night drinking and socialising—an activity that was normal routine, accepted as a standard in British culture.

A third result worth mentioning was deleting my library of 700+ downloaded films **cough**cough** pirate/stolen…

This commenced with difficulty at first as I was erasing them individually.

Weeks later, I found the impetus to use the PC’s ‘Ctrl-A’ function and delete the lot.

Currently, through daily Bible reading, prayer, and my mind on God, I’m coming to know peace, but it’s a slow process that requires patience.

So why is a new heart more important than every single innovative, whacky New Year’s Resolution?

Through a new heart, we’re guided on a progressive journey of increasing empathy where the only being to answer to is God and the gift is everlasting joy (Romans 12:2 ESV).

Of course, transition with this new heart is easier said than done. Being in Christ is a consistent practice and He knows if we’re sincere.

So, is Christ in our heart, allowing us to improve daily as a person in God’s eyes?

Or do we live for temporary fixes like New Year’s Resolutions? Our career success? Our partner’s affirmation? Financial prosperity? Or an obsessional love for our children that’s dominating our lives?

Do we find our minds buzzing with tedious social issues or work-related challenges?  

The overall question we should ask is: what do we currently treasure?

‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’

Matthew 6:21 ESV