I’ve heard of people keeping their money in a mattress. One of my grandmothers had a mayonnaise jar full of cash in her top dresser drawer. But I saw the oddest “banking” arrangement the other day that I’ve seen in a long time.

Stopped at a stoplight on a busy city street, I saw a shabbily-dressed, dirty guy reach into a hedge at McDonald’s®, pull out a blue plastic cup, and remove from it a wad of one dollar bills. He counted the bills (there were four) and replaced the cup in the same spot in the hedge.

As the light changed and I drove on, I tried to imagine how the “system” worked. Did other people know about the blue cup-bank, or was it this man’s own private account? Did he make deposits, and then return later for withdrawals – or did someone else keep the kitty filled? Was it a common pool? Did other folks know about it? Was it a give-what-you-can, take-what-you-need arrangement?

Then my last thought was this: is that secure? I mean, anyone could have taken his $4 if they had known the bush to look under, right? How safe could a cup full of money be near a fast food stop at a high-traffic intersection? I wondered if the man I saw slept nearby, or if he visited the hedge often to make sure his investment was safe. I would have.

That’s because we don’t stray far from our treasure. We want to be sure of it. We keep returning to it for reassurance and security. We need to be certain of our treasure’s whereabouts, and to keep tabs on its availability. But here’s the thing: no treasure is safe unless it exists within us, or it resides beyond us. Whether it’s in a safe deposit box or an IRA – a hedge fund or a trust fund – real estate or art – it’s vulnerable. Just as vulnerable, really, as if were stashed in a blue plastic cup.

Because the only stuff that lasts is the stuff that you can’t lock away.

The man I saw who made the $4 withdrawal probably wouldn’t have been surprised if he had returned to find his account emptied. I’m sure he knew full-well the risk of keeping his investment in an unguarded ring of foliage. But I probably put more faith than I should in my own “protected” accounts…and “visit” them more than I need to.

The place that preoccupies my heart is the place where my treasure resides – the question is, what treasure – where – and will it last?

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6: 19-21, NIV)

© Leigh McLeroy 2005