Reconsidering the Treasure Principle

The Treasure Principle Reconsidered: Storing Up True Treasures in Heaven.

You can join me in reading the article at The Journal of Biblical Integration In Business.

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The simple thrust of this article is what should pastors, ministers, and educators do to encourage congregations and students to pursue treasure in heaven?

I love the practical implications Roller walks through as he develops the notion that God is after the holistic heart rather than simply giving money to the church. A perfect example I have recently heard in my own life is the ingenuity of a doctor in the Southern United States who God gripped his heart for the 32 million people living with undiagnosed epilepsy. Rather than simply giving for others to solve the problem; this doctor created a diagnostic tool non-medical personnel could use to send data for a doctor to diagnose from US. Now non-medical missionaries can provide holistic care year round while they share the good news of Jesus.

As I read this article, I feel like Roller is encouraging holistic disciple making rather than conflated categories of giving.

I've never read The Treasure Principle the author uses to scaffold his argument of what true treasure in heaven is. However, the reader can quickly tell that author is not a fan. Based on the small amount of text quoted from the book, I questioned whether Alcorn didn't use treasure symbolically like the Jewish interpretations cited in the paper.

Perhaps, the tone is too harsh on Alcorn, but I really enjoyed the background on Jewish interpretation, and the practical implications for pastors and teachers in the classroom to encourage holistic disciple making from all believers.