“Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
~Matthew 6:19-21

Last week Neill and I snuck up to Boston overnight to see one of my favorite bands (Guster) perform with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall.  This was my fourth time seeing Guster in concert, and the performance was out of this world.  In fact the lead singer (Ryan Miller) reflected in an Instagram post, “I cried a bunch.  It was just so very… on.  Maybe it was the weight of playing in that venue (Symphony Hall) with that orchestra (Boston Pops) and conductor (Keith Lockhard) in front of those fans (insanely charged) with these songs that we’ve accumulated over the last 3+ decades . . . Wednesday night was one of the very best shows in our history, hands down.” 

And Neill and I got to be there at Symphony Hall in Boston to experience it all!! 
We were part of the insanely charged crowd!! 
I have certainly been on cloud nine ever since.  It was just a magical experience.

What I’ve been thinking about further is the wonder of an amazing experience like that particular concert, but also how experiences shared with loved ones can be so uplifting and even transformational. 

Maybe it’s seeing a favorite band in concert. 
Or going on a long-awaited vacation to somewhere special. 
Maybe it’s hanging out by a campfire eating s’mores or a hike in the woods or a walk on the beach at sunset.
The point is the power of the experience and the power of relationships. 

There was a thought-provoking article in The Atlantic about behavorial economics, with the thesis being that experinces bring people more happiness than possessions do.  James Hamblin wrote “Buy Experiences, Not Things” to reflect upon experiential purchases versus material purchases.*  

Or let’s get biblical.
Jesus taught to stop collecting treasures on earth, moth and rust are going to eat them eventually anyway.  Thieves could even break in and steal our stuff. 
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Perhaps Jesus wanted to remind us that it’s best not to treasure stuff.
Treasure experiences that will become amazing memories. 
Better yet, let’s truly treasure people! 

Love,
Pastor Lauren 

*James Hamblin, “Buy Experiences, Not Things” in The Atlantic, October 7, 2014, https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/10/buy-experiences/381132/

Photo by Rev. Lauren L. Ostrout.

Thursday Thoughts 6/15/23