This is the danger of earthbound treasure:
The person you met and mildly enjoyed becomes the person whose approval you cannot live without. The work you undertook to support your family becomes the source of identity and achievement you can’t give up. Thehouse you built for the shelter and comfort of your family becomes a temple for the worship of possessions. A rightful attention to your own needs morphs into a self-absorbed existence. Ministry has become more of an opportunity to seek power and approval than a life in the service of God. The things we set our hearts on never remain under our control. Instead, they capture, control and enslave us. This is the danger of earth-bound treasure.
Every human being is a worshiper, in active pursuit of the thing that rules his heart. This worship shapes everything we do and say, who we are, and how we live. this is why the heart is always our target in personal ministry.
Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands 73
