Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

~2 Timothy‬ ‭1:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The enemy has a mission to kill, steal, and destroy. We must vigilantly be found guarding our valuables.

Lost Valuables

I once had a disturbing conversation with a man who had been raised in church from the day he was born.  When the topic rolled around to salvation, he said, “I have heard about Jesus dying on the cross so many times that I am getting tired of it. It’s cheesy.”

His words turned my stomach. How do we go from tearful gratefulness at the foot of the cross to viewing the cross with contempt?

If we are careless in guarding our perception of the value of our blessings, we can begin to view something precious as commonplace and eventually contemptible.

It is an often unrecognized tactic of the enemy to steal our blessings (John 10:10). By introducing the temptation of “new,” he attempts to plant seeds of discontentment, complacency, and familiarity that can mature into contempt.

Discovered Valuables

Once our blessings are no longer viewed as blessings but something worthless to discard, our treasures become easy pickings for the enemy. We save him the trouble of breaking in to steal. He can simply stroll down our sidewalk and pick treasure from our trash.

There are signs that the enemy is beginning to steal our valuables. When we judge our brother, it clearly indicates we have forgotten the magnitude of our brokenness—dare I say our wretchedness— when Christ found us. It is a short step from minimizing our sin to minimizing our salvation.

We should turn our critical eye from the speck in our brother’s eye. Then, we can remove the log in our own eyes. We can also rediscover the joy of our salvation and receive a heart of compassion.

Invite the Holy Spirit to reveal any complacency attempting to devalue your treasure. Then God can restore the joy of your salvation and breathe fire into your vigilance to guard your valuables. Don’t let the enemy have any foothold to pick you clean when you turn your head.

Father, I don’t want to become an unwitting victim of the enemy. When he draws near and complacency starts to creep in, caution me. Whisper in my ear so I will guard my valuables. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2025: Guarding Our Valuables: Julie Souza Lilly: All Rights Reserved