Various news organizations showed the footage of Ukrainians who fled their homeland as the Russians closed in on them. Those footage draw attention to two important things that Jesus spoke about. The first is the incomparable value of life. Jesus tried to talk a man out of a greedy lifestyle when he said to him, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”” (Luke 12:15 NKJV). The people who were crossing the borders had only one thing on their minds – safety. They hadn’t the luxury of carrying suitcases or their mahogany seats. Many simply had a small carry-on with them. They were ready to forfeit all their earthly possession to secure their lives. Putting a spiritual spin on this has a graver import. There is truly no profit in gaining the whole world only to lose one’s soul.
The second thing that the Russian-Ukraine war throws up is the temporal nature of the things of this world. Just within days, those who had been landlords previously now needed shelter in temporary camps as refugees. For some, all their earthly possessions were gone at the blast of a missile. Jesus knew how uncertain the treasures of this world could be. They can rust or be stolen. In this case, they can be lost to the belligerence of one man in the act of war. What then should be the concern of a believer? Focus on imperishable treasures. Instead of laying your treasures on earth with all the associated risks, lay them in heaven. Distributing to the necessities of saints and spending for the cause of Christ are ways of laying treasures in heaven.