Guard Your Treasures

2 Kings 20:12-19 (ESV)

At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. [13] And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. [14] Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” [15] He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.” 


[16]Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: [17]Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. [18] And some of your own sons, who shall be born to you, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” [19] Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?” 


Do you guard your treasures or do you open them up just to anybody? Let’s replace the word “treasures” with “secrets” or “inner thoughts.” Are you quick to lay everything out before someone just because they say they are a Christian? What happens when that person is not who they say they are or just not mature in the Lord? It’s quite possible that your “treasury” will be looted.


We are to love our brothers, don’t get me wrong, but this about being wise with what you share. I personally am sure I can share everything with two men in my life and one woman (my wife). David had Jonathon, then he had “the three,” and after that he had “the thirty mighty men.” (2 Sam 23:8-39). All of which probably had different levels of confidence.


Look at Jesus and the men he surrounded Himself with. I’m sure the closest to Jesus was John the apostle (John 13:23). After John there was James and Peter (Mark 9:2-13 & Mt 26:36-46). And the next level of closeness was the twelve apostles followed by the 120 disciples. 


Jesus did not take 120 disciples with Him when He was praying to the Father over the difficult task ahead of Jesus. Depending on the closeness was what probably determined how much disclosure there was. Fortunately for us, through the scripture, all of this was disclosed to us.


What I’m trying to say is that you can still love your brother without having to disclose everything in your life. You don’t have to confess all of your sins to a human as a way of forgiveness (you may need to ask forgiveness to those you hurt), only God can forgive, and has, your sins. If you must share deep secrets about yourself, make sure it is one that loves you so much that respect for privacy is present and judgment is not. The Father wants us to have love and unity with each other, and though it would be nice that a deep intimacy was present from the get go, we know that the close relationships, like ours with God, come from work, time and loving that other person on a daily basis.