I am showing my age here, yours too if you remember what those are.  

Oh yeah baby the magical things you could get from saving these little green squares. Every so often a catalogue would appear in the mailbox. Oh, the hours we kids would spend going through the toy sections picking out exactly what we were going to get with our green stamps. That baby doll that walks, talks, and wets her pants after you give her a water bottle. How special that was, I was not as excited when my real baby boy needed a diaper change as I was about that doll.  

Or how about that far out bicycle with the banana seat and fringe on the handles that would show everyone how fast I could fly down the road. Never mind that I did not know how to ride a bike, I would learn. I still do not know how to ride a bike.  

I remember sitting with my mother for hours, licking and sticking, licking and sticking, licking and sticking. The gum on the back of those things was nasty tasting! Would it have hurt them to put some bubblegum on the back? It was worth it for the baby doll I had finally settled on.  

Then the day came. Mother gathered up all the many books of S&H Green Stamps, we climbed in the car and drove to the Redemption Center. I was so excited. There were so many books of stamps, we could get both the bike and the baby doll.  

I had forgotten one particularly key point. Those were not my stamps. For those of you who do not know, you had to purchase items from gas stations, grocery, and department stores to get those stamps. Green Stamps were one of the first loyalty programs. Retailers still use this practice to encourage consumers to buy their products. Does punch cards or free fries if you download our app sound familiar? 

Well imagine my disappointment when we walked out, not with a baby doll or bicycle, but with two end tables and a coffee table. I spent all those hours licking and sticking those nasty stamps for, for… furniture?  

I started learning important lessons that day. Lessons on economics, consumerism, and working for the things we want. Okay, so I did not know the meaning of those words yet, Mother did not sit me down with a paper and pencil as professor mom and teach me, yet I learned and have not forgotten the importance of working hard and paying for the things I want.  

Today, 50+ years later that baby doll would have long ago been forgotten. Did I mention I still cannot ride a bike? However, I will never forget those tables. Why, you may ask? I still have them and use them in my home every day.  

Matthew 6:20 tells us: 

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. NIV 
  

• What are you working for?  
• Where are your most valuable treasures stored?  

Think on that.