At the height of Charles Spurgeon’s ministry, he was persuaded by a wealthy business man to tour an expensive, palatial home. Walking through the corridors of the palace, the owner showed Spurgeon his Italian marble floors. He tried to convince the prince of preachers that it was the best money could buy. In his typical convicting style, Spurgeon replied, “These are the things that make it hard to die.”

     Spurgeon’s remark was a rebuke against the desire for worldly possessions. When a man spends his life pursuing the things of this world, he will often do so at the expense of missing the next world, therefore making it hard to die.

     You cannot measure your eternal value by the worth or collection of your earthly vessels. The Lord declared, “For a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he possesseth” (Luke 12:15). All that we possess in this life will one day fade away. The only thing that will last eternally is your relationship with God. Therefore, we are instructed to “set our affection on things above, not on things below.”

     Your feet may never touch Italian marble floors, but if you live and die in faith they will one day walk on the heavenly street of gold.