Talk

BRO. AUDEE VILLARAZA:

We are in Talk 8 of our series, The Good Life.

The topic today is very much relevant to each of us because the topic is called Wealth. The other topic is Worry.

How many of you are worried about money? They are natural concerns– wealth and worry. We’re going to dig deep. I want to start by telling you a story.

Way back when we didn’t have children yet, my wife, Kristel, and I traveled to a place called Sagada (A town in the Cordillera Mountains, within the Mountain Province, northern Luzon). It’s a beautiful place. If you’ve never been there, check it out. We have so many amazing places in our country.

Cave Diving

In Sagada, we went cave diving.

The technical term is spelunking. You’ve got to be mentally and physically tough to do that.

Back then, I was into photography. My favorite gear was my Canon DSLR.

We didn’t have good camera phones back then. So, I would bring that gear, and in its bag would be three lenses, a tripod, and a few battery packs. The bells and whistles all crunched up in a backpack. I would carry the backpack everywhere– like it was my firstborn.

Following two guides, we started to go cave diving.

I noticed one of the guides gaping at me. I didn’t look like Lara from Tomb Raider. With that big backpack, I looked like Leonardo, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

The guide told me this friendly advice, “Brother, please do not bring that.” I said, “No, problem. I got this. I’m going to carry it through.”

We slowly walked down into the deep, cold, and damp cave of Sagada. We looked like hobbits because I was just wearing just a pair of slippers.

Darkness… and Light

Along that slow descent, we went into pitch black darkness. Nothing illuminated these caves.

What lit our path were only the lanterns that the guides were holding.

It was slow and easy going down the cave– until the very first obstacle…

Five minutes later, we faced this tiny little crevice where only one human body could squeeze in.

I was staring at this hole, thinking: “Oh no, what am I going to do with my backpack? Am I gonna go back to where we came from? Am I just going to leave it here? Am I gonna set up camp and make this my bad cave? What am I gonna do?”

I looked back at the guide, and I saw him just smiling, as though he was telling me, “I told you so.”

Then he said, “Sir, give me your backpack, and then you can cross through.”

At first, I was a little hesitant because I had about thousands of pesos worth of gear in my backpack. I didn’t know the guy.

I was like, “What if he disappeared in the darkness?” Then, I would hear the words, “My precious!”

But I didn’t have a choice. I gave him the backpack, and I crawled in that tiny space, and I squeezed in with every ounce of courage and confidence. Some 20 seconds later, I was out at the other side.

Here’s the most shocking part. The guide who I thought was behind me was there–right in front of me, carrying my backpack.

I was so scared. I had to touch his arm to make sure I wasn’t seeing a ghost. And, as if reading my thoughts, he said, “Sir, I’m not a ghost. I’m real.

There’s a rope around the rock. That’s where I crossed.”

Powerful Message

At that moment, the Lord taught me a very powerful message: Sometimes in life, the reason the journey is hard is not the road– but the stuff that we insist on carrying.

What is in your bag right now? What is in your backpack that you’re carrying so much that you insist on bringing it instead of letting it go?

Many of us treasure possessions, material things. For some of us, maybe we treasure the applause of people. For some of us, it’s control over our children, over our businesses, our work–and even over our ministries.

What is in your backpack? Maybe the reason you’re struggling on the path you’re crossing is you insist on carrying all of these things. Let them go.

The lesson the Lord taught me that day was this: that when your life is overcrowded with stuff, where can God dwell in your life? He has no space to dwell in.

That’s why today, Jesus is giving us advice in the book of Matthew.

We are still talking about the Sermon on the Mount. Let me give you the advice of Jesus. He says this beautifully>>>>>

In the original Greek language, treasure means stored stuff. Jesus says don’t store stored stuff in your life for one day, the moth will just eat it, rust will just destroy it, or God forbid, the enemy or the thief will steal it.

Sometimes, our stored stuff is the source of our stress, anxiety, and worry.

Today, the Lord wants to speak over us in the context of the wealth that He wants to give to us– but also the worry around our needs.

Put your hand over your chest and say this with me:

“Lord, I need this message badly. I have needs.

Help me to see this from your perspective. Give me your wisdom. Speak, Your servant is listening. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

Thy Word is Lamp unto to my feet And a Light unto my path.

Where Is Your Treasure?

In 2023, I was invited to the wedding of our good friends, TL and Mon San Juan. TL just led Worship here onstage, and Mon is our regular guitarist. They got married in 2023. They invited me to be a principal sponsor.

The day before the wedding, I prepared my stuff. The moment I landed in church, I felt that my shoe was a little sticky, as if I had stepped on gum. I was thinking that maybe, the carpet was just humid. As I was walking, my shoe kept getting stickier and stickier.

When I looked down, horror of horrors! I was leaving black residues on the carpet with every step. By then, I was tiptoeing to the altar so that people would not notice. By the time I got to the pew, I looked down and to my shock, the sole of one shoe was disintegrating right before my eyes. Apparently, when you store leather shoes in a cabinet, this is what happens. They’re no longer good.

I was thinking, “My goodness, I was protecting these. I was storing them.” They’re valuable, but now, they’re reduced to nothing.

Maybe, this is Jesus’ message to all of us today. Don’t store treasure on Earth where moth will just eat it up, rust will just destroy it, and your cabinet will just obliterate it. Right?

But then, Jesus further gives us a warning: “For where your treasure is, that’s where the desires of your heart will also be.”

Our heart is like a compass. A compass is not like Waze. The compass will never tell you where you need to go. The compass will point only to where the magnet is.

In the same way, if your heart is magnetized by wealth, your life will revolve around it. If your heart is magnetized by success, your life will revolve around achievements, accolades, trophies, applause. But if your heart is magnetized

and focused only towards God, your entire life will revolve around Him, no matter where you go, and no matter where life takes you.

That’s why Jesus says: “For where your treasure is, that’s where your heart will also be.”

Here’s the danger. The more time you spend with that treasure, the more you become just like your treasure.

Who Are We?

St. Claire of Assisi said: “We become who we love.”

Maybe married people would know this: that the more you hang around with your spouse, the more you start looking like each other and behaving like each other.

We also have that saying in Pinoy: When you spend so much time with money, “Mukha ka ng pera.”

We become who or what we behold.

The big example that I can give you is none other than this Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. Gollum was so obsessed with the ring of power that when he did not have it, he hunted, he sought it out, and he tried to kill people over it.

But the moment he possessed it, he was so paranoid that people would come and steal it away from him.

He’s the guy who originally said, “My precious!”

But before he was Gollum, he was this good-looking guy named Smeagol. But because he was so consumed by this ring of power, greed, lust, and all this nasty stuff, it reduced him to a beast, an animal.

That’s what stuff does, if you’re not careful. Stuff will

change you into the very person that God does not want you to become. Let me give you an example.

During Mass, I needed to go to the bathroom. I was carrying a bag with me, and the bag was a bit cumbersome.

But I thought, “I’m at The Feast. I can probably leave my bag. Let me just take my wallet and my phone.”

That’s probably what most of you would do.

So, I left, not thinking about my bag. When I went back to my seat, the bag was still there. The message is not that the bag was still there.

The message is: Protect your possessions, but don’t stress about it every second of the day. Trust that if the Lord allows it to be destroyed or to be stolen, it simply means that He has a purpose and that He has something prepared that’s better for you.

Who Is Our Master?

It’s the stuff that we own sometimes that’s stressing us out and giving us anxiety.

My wife gave me a gift last December. This one, the white shoes I’m wearing. I wear it not only because it’s her gift, but also because it’s the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever had. It’s called On Cloud. It literally feels like you’re walking on a cloud.

They’re pretty expensive. They’re like P8,000-P9,000. I do have gadgets, vehicles, and properties, but when it comes to accessories, I don’t really buy something that expensive.

But I always tell my wife: “I’m not going to buy that for myself, but I’m open to receiving them, especially from you, not as a bribe, but as a token of love.”

A few weeks ago, she looked at my shoes and she said, “Your shoes are overused.”

I replied, “Yes, because that’s what they’re made for, right? To be used.”

I have a rule in my life: That if I own stuff, I’m going to use that stuff until it breaks or until I no longer have use for it, and then I’m going to give it away.

That’s a good habit, by the way. Here’s a rule that you can go by, a recommendation: If you haven’t worn a piece of clothing for more than six months, stop thinking that you are going to be able to use it again. We have lofty goals sometimes. Six years have gone by, and I still haven’t worn that shirt.

Every six months, clean out your closet so that there’s more room for what the Lord would bless you with.

God is not against you having money. Money is good because it enriches our lives. It puts your children through college. It helps people who are sick. It gets your family the comfort and the security they need.

The Bible does not say that money is evil. What is evil is the love of money. Do not let your possessions consume you.

Jesus is saying: “Don’t store up treasures in Heaven.”

He says: “You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve God and at the same time, serve mammon.”

That’s sounds yummy but it’s not dessert. In the Bible, mammon means an evil spirit representing the love of money, greed, lust, envy, all these nasty stuffs.

Jesus is saying you cannot serve two masters. Why? For the simple reason that if you’ve got Master 1 and Master 2, one will always be greater than the other. God can be your master today, but tomorrow, mammon may be your master.

Three Powerful Treasures

What are these treasures that we can store on Earth and also in Heaven? I’ll give you three powerful treasures that we have.

1.   God

He is our greatest treasure. I don’t mind not having the blessing, but I mind not having the Blesser. I’d rather have the Blesser than the blessing. I don’t need to get to Heaven to have that relationship. I can have that while I’m still breathing, while I’m still alive.

That’s why Jesus says: “Finding the Kingdom of Heaven is like finding treasure in an open field.”

You would do everything and sell all your possessions just to own that field.

That’s how amazing it is.

2.   People

The people that we call our family, our friends, our confidence,

and our co-servants are our greatest treasures. But Jesus takes it a step further. He says that every person is a treasure.

Yes, even the one you avoid in the office on Monday. Even the one who sings with the videoke at 2:00 A.M. every weekend. Even the one who voted for that other candidate. But it’s hard.

In 258 AD, the Roman prefect asked Lawrence, a deacon: “Bring the treasures of the church to my presence.”

For three days, Lawrence was gone.

On the third day, he showed up. Do you know what he brought? He brought the poor, the blind, and the lame (left).

He said: “These are the treasures of the Church.”

The Prefect wasn’t amused. He had Lawrence killed. (For his martyrdom, he was canonized St. Lawrence.)

But we all get the message.

Jesus says as He preaches on the Mount: “Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who are persecuted. Blessed are those who are humbled…”

He’s saying: “These are the VIPs, the kings of my Kingdom.” Jesus is saying that every person is a treasure.

I know that there are people who are hard to love. But guess what? They’re still treasures– but you can treat them as buried treasure.

It’s a hard message.

3.  Life

The last time I checked, we’ve got only one chance at this. We don’t get to have it again.

So, the time that you have, the resources that you have, the energy, and even the youth that we have, one day they are going away, and you’ll never have them back. So, until that time, continue to treasure your life and the lives of your loved ones as well.

Here’s a good question: “How will I value my life if I don’t have everything that I need?”

Jesus gives us a powerful truth.

He says: Seek first the Kingdom of God, and He will give you everything that you need.

“Really? Why is it that until now, I still don’t have a fully-paid iPhone Pro Max?”

God will give you everything that you need. Air in your lungs. He’ll give you energy. He’ll give you protection. He’ll give you wisdom. He’ll guide you.

Maybe you don’t have right now what you’re praying for. Maybe it’s because God thinks that you don’t need it. Sometimes, what we ask for are not needs,– but wants.

God will always give us what we need because God provides.

Jesus says something so crazy. He tells us not to worry. But how many of us still live every day with worries?

Jesus doesn’t tell you to stop working. He just tells you to stop worrying.

So, continue to work. Continue to produce. Continue to work hard.

But in the process of doing so, stop worrying because He’s got you and He’s got your needs.

He gives us an analogy. This is funny to me because Jesus says that while you’re worried, this is what you should do: “Look at the birds. Look at the lilies of the field. Look at the flowers.”

That sounds like weird advice, right? In my worry,

I got to go out and look for birds?

But that’s not the point…

Lessons from Birds

If you’re going to look at the Bible in a literal sense, you won’t get the idea.

If you really study and discern what Jesus is trying to say, you’ll note three lessons that birds teach us:

Work –but don’t worry.

Every morning, the early birds always get the worm. Why?

Because they start very early, and they feed their young, and they protect their young.

But have you ever seen a worried bird? Maybe an angry bird, but not a worried bird, right?

In the same way, in your work, in your business, in your ministry, also trust in the Lord that every day, He’s going to show up and provide for your needs.

Build wisely– not excessively.

I’m not saying that mansions are bad. They are comfortable, right?

But like I said earlier, work for your family’s needs. Work for your security.

But do not let your possessions consume your heart and control your life.

Because the last thing that God wants is that we would treat stuff as our God, as our idol. Because that goes against the First Commandment:

I am the Lord your God. You shall not have other gods before me.

Praise in the morning.

Every time you wake up, you hear the birds sing.

They start their day with a son        g. They don’t start their day with stress. Many of us start our day with stress, worry, and anxiety. When you wake up tomorrow, praise God, and start your day with gratitude so you can end the day with gratitude.

Lessons from Flowers

Let’s look at the flowers. What do the flowers do that we don’t?

Bloom where you’re planted The flowers don’t get to choose the soil that they’re planted in.

They’re just planted there. But they also bloom wherever they’re planted.

In the same way, stop complaining and stop wishing and praying that you’re in a different season or circumstance.

Why don’t you thank the Lord and honor Him right where you are right now?

If you’re in a bad season, believe that the Lord has a purpose for that season. Bloom where you’re planted like a flower does. They rest in God’s design.

Flowers don’t have to strive to be beautiful. They’re just beautiful the way that they are and the way that God made them to be.

In the same way, I want to tell all the people here that if you have insecurities just like me, I want to tell you that God created you just the way that you are.

He loves you just the way that you are. You don’t have to try so hard to prove yourself to people because God made you to be that person. You just have to rest in that beautiful design and proclaim the Lord’s goodness.

Serve by being yourself.

Flowers attract bees and attention from people because they’re beautiful as they are.

You can serve people the best way by being authentic in God’s purpose. You don’t have to be somebody that you’re not. Serve right where you are.

Getting to Heaven

I’ll end this talk with a fiction story, all right?

There’s this man who sets for Heaven. On his way to Heaven, he brings a bag of gold. He then comes face-to-face with

Peter at the gates.

Seeing the bag of gold that he is carrying, Peter says, “You cannot bring that inside.”

The man insists, “This is my life savings. I worked so hard for this.” Peter just smiles because he knew something that the man didn’t.

In his wisdom, Peter moves aside and the man sees what’s inside the pearly gates. As Revelation says: >>>

Sometimes we’re thinking: “I’m going to make money. I’m going to keep all these valuable things. One day, I know I’m going to be able to bring this to Heaven.”

Only to realize that when we actually get to Heaven, everything that we worked for was nothing but dirt and pavement in Heaven. What we think is precious here in this world is nothing compared to what awaits us in Heaven.

Just like what The Feast song I Want You says: “Everything that the best of what this world can offer is nothing but a speck.”

It’s dirt. It’s a speck compared to what awaits us in Heaven. You cannot compare what is in Heaven to what we have here right now.

I heard a song on the radio a few days ago. It’s an old song sung by Eric Clapton. Eric wrote the song for his son, who died at four years of age. The title of the song is Tears in Heaven: Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven?

Would it be the same if I saw you in heaven? /I must be strong to carry on. Because I know I don’t belong here in heaven.

Imagine singing that song to your loved one.

Eric Clapton wrote: “Coz I know I don’t belong here in Heaven.”

It bothered me for a bit. I thought that’ it’s wrong theology. I belong in Heaven. God loves me. He wants me.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized: “Oh, my gosh, he’s actually right. I don’t deserve Heaven. Not with everything that I’ve done.”

If you’re honest about it, it should scare you to know that we don’t deserve Paradise. We don’t deserve all of these things and the love of God. I’m worried because what if I’m not good enough? What if I don’t make it to Heaven?

But that’s the message of Jesus in the Gospel: “Stop worrying.”

God sent His Son Jesus to take what we truly deserve so that He could give to us what God wants for us to deserve.

Commitment

Yes, we don’t deserve Heaven, but in God’s grace and in God’s mercy, He made us deserving of Heaven. All these worries that we have about tomorrow– whether we will be enough, whether you’re going to be good enough, whether you’re going to have that break at one point…

Jesus says: “I’ve made you worthy. You deserve Heaven because I made you deserving.”

There’s one last story that I want to share.

It’s a story again about a man in Heaven. This is a different story with a different context.

A man goes to Heaven, and then he sees Peter again in the same story.

St. Peter says, “Tell me all the good stuff that you did while you were living on Earth.”

The guy says, “I was very faithful to my wife.”

Peter says, “That’s five points. You need 100 points to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

The guy adds, “I did all of these charities.” St. Peter says, “That’s two points.”

The guy says, “I served at The Feast. I was in Ministry. I was a preacher.

I was a Worship leader. I was an usher.” St. Peter says, “That’s six points.”

The man says, “By the time I’m done telling you everything, I still would not reach a hundred. It’s only by the Grace of God that I’ll be able to enter that place.”

St. Peter smiles and says, “Come on in. That’s all you need.” The Grace of God is enough for you to get to Heaven.

We deserve punishment, but God gave us forgiveness. We deserve rejection, but God gave us acceptance. We deserve death, but God gave everlasting life

to whoever would believe and call on Him.

Are you ready to trust in the One who can provide, who can heal, who can resurrect the dead to life? Are you ready to give your life to Jesus?

Father, look at us today. We are in Your Presence in this banquet called The Feast. Though none of us deserve to be in Your Presence, we Thank You

that in Your mercy and in Your love, You have welcomed us and You sit with us. You forgive us. So, we give our lives to You, Lord Jesus, now and forever. Amen.

 

This story was first published in the Feast Family Online News Magazine
Published by THE FEAST (September 28, 2025)