The Treasure Principle

Founder Michael Riley was raised in Africa  (son of Nazarene Missionaries Jack and Mary Lou Riley) and lived in South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe until he returned to the USA to attend college. He has always had a heart for the people of Africa and after a return visit to Mozambique and Malawi in 2019 he felt compelled to help where possible, and to create opportunities for others to do the same. After reading Randy Alcorn’s book “The Treasure Principle*,” he was inspired to create Eternal Treasures Ministry, a 501(c)3 Registered Nonprofit organization.  Donations are tax-deductible.

 The Treasure Principle is this: "You can't take it with you, but you can send it on ahead!" Based on Matt. 6:19-21, where Jesus commands us to “...Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...” In his book Randy develops several keys for joyful giving: 

 TREASURE PRINCIPLE KEY # 1:  God owns everything. I’m His money manager. (Psalm 24:1,  Haggai 2:8,  Deuteronomy 8:18, 1 Corinthians 6:19–20).  We are stewards, and should manage the assets God has entrusted us with in accordance with His will.

TREASURE PRINCIPLE KEY #2:  My heart always goes where I put God’s money. “What we do with our money doesn’t simply indicate where our hearts are. According to Jesus, it determines where our hearts go.” (Matt. 6:21)

TREASURE PRINCIPLE KEY #3: Heaven and the future New Earth, not this fallen Earth, is my home. “...the greatest deterrent to giving is this: the illusion that the present Earth is our home.  We move into eternity, but our stuff stays behind.”

TREASURE PRINCIPLE KEY #4: I should live not for the dot but for the line. “Our present life on Earth is the dot. It begins. It ends. It’s brief. But from that dot extends a line that goes on forever. That line is eternity, which Christians will spend in Heaven.”

TREASURE PRINCIPLE KEY #5: Giving is the only antidote to materialism. “Giving in any form frees us from the gravitational hold of money and possessions. It shifts us to a new center of gravity: Heaven.”

TREASURE PRINCIPLE KEY #6: God prospers me not to raise my standard of living but to raise my standard of giving. “Abundance isn’t God’s provision for me to live in luxury. It’s His provision for me to help others live. God entrusts me with this money not to build my kingdom on Earth but to build His kingdom in Heaven.”

Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38). “The more you give, the more comes back to you, because God is the greatest giver in the universe, and He won’t let you outgive Him.”

The Lord Jesus himself said: “There is more happiness in giving than receiving.” (Acts 20:35, GNT)

 *Alcorn, Randy. The Treasure Principle, Revised and Updated. The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.