So, on with the actual posting.

My apartment got broken into about two months ago. The thieves took my camera and my laptop, along with a cup of change. So much for living in a safe neighborhood.

Obviously, this is a very upsetting experience--having people you don't know rooting around in your stuff, losing all the old files you used to have on your computer that you never were going to look at again, but still. Isn't it nice to just have them around in case you ever do need them? And then the hassle of getting new things, and the worries over the money.

Which brings me to this: When I was in the first throes of agony, so to speak, (or maybe it was the second or third set of throes) I thought of this particular saying of Jesus': "Don't build up treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Instead, build up treasures for yourself in heaven."

I've heard this verse in church many times, and before it always seemed very punitive to me, as if to say, "you shouldn't care about money, if you're really spiritual," or, "serving God means giving everything away and suffering like crazy--you'd never be able to do it."

But now, having had the experience of having thieves break in and steal, I've had this sudden insight about Jesus as an older brother giving me good advice. He's not trying to make me feel guilty for not being spiritual enough; he's trying to keep me from the demoralizing experience of losing what I hold most dear. It's a much warmer picture than I used to have, thinking about what used to seem like a very ascetic kind of a teaching.