hide up treasures Helaman 13:18-24

"Kent, Come here boy!" Our golden retriever was in the middle of our tidewater canal barking.

"It's time to come in boy," come on. But he would never come, and we would leave with him standing in the middle of the creek as the tide receded. He loved to swim and would often spend all day in the water. If ever we couldn't find him we would look by the dock. He loved swimming and retrieving so much that we could throw a brick into the water. He would feel it with his feet and then dive down and with his mouth open under water, he would grasp the brick and carry it to the grassy bank.

He loved to retrieve. And he loved his treasures. We were made aware of his love for treasure one afternoon during an annual spring tide. A Spring tide comes with a full moon and is typically about 3 feet or more above a normal tide. It depends on recent the rainfall. This particular tide caught our attention. As we watched it rise well above the marsh grass that stretched in green waves across the opposite shore, we saw glimpses of strange objects. The higher the water rose the more exposed these objects became. We decided to investigate.

We dove into the deepening water and swam the short distance across. Standing in the pluff mud we discovered, there behind the

tall grass and nested deep into the marsh walls was our dog's "treasure trove". Amazed at his dedication and ability to keep it from us, we surmised that he had waited patiently for every given chance to meet the incoming tide and capture his treasures. We found: aluminum chairs, life preservers, crab buoys, rope, fishing bobs, plastic bottles, boards from off of boats, plastic garbage bags, and many other assundry items.

While we watched his gathered treasures rise above the tips of the grass and float out into the open, he frantically swam in circles gathering them and trying to put them back. He was obviously mortified of their release and wanted mostly to return them to their proper place. Like a rat who is entranced by

shiny objects and will steal them, our dog Kent had become entranced with every object the tide had sent into our creek. He wanted to keep them for himself. The betrayal of the tide caused him much distress. After the tide began to recede we were able to help him restore his private treasures to their "secret hiding place." Today when I think of this beloved pet, I am reminded of his need to hide up treasures and his great dismay when the earth turned them out.

I suppose we all have secret hiding places where we store our most treasured items. Kent took great pains to hide his treasures from us. (I don't believe our other Golden new about them either.) Treasures help us find security while we sojourn on this earth. Each one of us value different monetary items for different reasons. Some of us will find great emotional connection with items and will value them because of attached memories. Other items will hold significant monetary value that we believe will protect us in times of uncertainty. Still other items merely meet our fantastical whim. We just like it. We don't have to have a reason other than it pleases us.

All of our treasures that we hold dear while we walk on this earth, cannot be taken with us when we pass on through the veil that separate life from death. God has counseled us to be careful what we treasure and store up for ourselves because only certain treasures will make it through the veil.

Matthew 6:20 "Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, For where your treasure is there will your heart be also."

As Kent barked and swam to retrieve his treasures it was easy to understand that his heart was with his treasures. And his treasures were exposed, lost to the tide, and not easily kept. When we learn to treasure heavenly virtues, such as companionship, friendship, conversation, discussion, emotional security, community, understanding, and many other key features of positive and good relationships we begin to understand what Matthew was speaking of. When we pass on we cannot take our new car, but we can (if we worked at here) find peace in knowing that we will be able to meet our loved ones. If our hearts was on our car, we may be disappointed to realize that we don't know the faces, the hearts, the love of our family that has come to meet us.

What does it mean to hide up our treasures unto God? How do we hide love up? How do we love confidence and goodness up? Where do we store them? How do we learn to value what we can only take with us?

Words and Phrases

vs 18 hide up treasures in the earth - the earth will not hold her treasures, for robbers will seek them out, rains will wash them away, etc. the earth changes it is not a sure and safe place to store up treasures.

The only way the earth will be safe is if he who will hide it is a righteous man and hides it up unto God.

vs 19 hide up treasures unto God... it is alright to be rich if you will choose to serve God with your riches. If a man has amassed a great deal of wealth and will not help those who are in need, those who come to him for help, then he is not seeking treasures for the work of God, but rather for his own pride, selfishness and greed. I know of many stories of people who were struggling to make ends meet and paid their tithing. The Lord was able to help them meet their debts because of someone who had righteously chosen to set their treasures unto God.

vs 20 because they have set their hearts upon the riches..... How do we know when the riches we have are good? when we hide our treasures to keep them from our enemies.. when we hide our treasures because we are scared of their loss, or of our own selfishness, then we have need to fear the Lord's curse upon us.

vs 21 cursed be because of your riches.. why would our riches be a curse unto us? When we have learned to love them more than others, more than those in need, more than our own family, more than God who has given them unto us. For all the riches of the earth are Gods.

vs 22 ye do always remember your riches. ... Riches beget selfishness, When we remember God we remember others, to serve, to give back.

vs 22. hearts are not drawn out.. pride, boasting, swelling envying, strife, malice, persecutions and murders iniquities. riches cause a great malady of sin. When we allow them to control us. When we allow ourselves to control them.. they can be used for great good. Riches are not the problem. Our heart is the problem.

vs 23 iniquities cause us to forget one another, to live in a sense of community with all things in common. I

vs 24 Riches cause us to mock our prophets, to not listen, to cast them out of our lives, our time, our listening ears.