Do Not Be Like Them

Do Not Be Like Them

One of the key teachings of the Bible is that God's people are not supposed to be like the world. In the early church, in the third century, a young deacon by the name of Laurentius was in charge of the treasury of the church in Rome. The Roman authorities had heard of the great treasures of that church and one day they came to take that treasure for themselves.

Roman soldiers raided the church of Laurentius and demanded all of the church’s treasures. Laurentius, when ordered to deliver them, led the soldiers to a room where the indigent, the crippled, the blind, and the suffering were being fed and tended to.

As the soldiers looked around the room, Laurentius pointed to the poor and said, “These are the treasures of the church.”

Laurentius was not being a fool. He truly loved and treasured these men, women and children. The world had thrown them away but he knew that God specializes in taking something worthless and giving it great value. The Apostle Paul wrote about this in his first letter to the church in Corinth, saying:

2 Corinthians 12:9–10

“I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Nothing that we possess on this earth will ultimately have lasting value. The only thing of true worth is Jesus Christ—who sees value in the worthless and gives strength to the weak.

This is the treasure of the church: that we can make an impact in the lives of those who need it most.

Isaiah 33:6

“And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.”