Matthew 6:19-21: Where Is Your Treasure?

Matthew 6:19-21: Where Is Your Treasure?

We’ll be temporarily pausing our series of sermons going through the book of 1 Samuel today in order to look at Matthew 6:19-21. It says,

¹⁹ Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

May God bless the reading of his Word.

 Let’s pray: Father, your word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our paths. Shine your light brightly this morning. Help us to see everything we need to see about who you are, what you’ve done, what you promise, what you teach, and what you desire for our lives. Minister to us by your Holy Spirit, for it’s in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

During my freshman year of college, I had a roommate who was training to be an airline pilot. And he explained to me how important it is for a pilot to know how to read the plane’s instrument panel—especially in cloudy weather. Apparently, there have been numerous amateur pilots flying small private planes who have crashed because they were flying in a low visibility situation and didn’t know how to properly read their instrument panel. So, instead of flying at a steady altitude, they ended up flying their plane into the ground. That’s why it’s so important for pilots to be thoroughly familiar with their plane’s instrument panel and pay careful attention to that panel as they’re flying the airplane.

Similarly, when it comes to monitoring our spiritual condition, there are a number of instruments on our own personal instrument panel—if you will—that are quite important for us to pay careful attention to. And one of the most important of those instruments is how we use the financial resources God’s entrusted to us. There are few things that reveal the true condition of our heart as much as the way we manage the money God entrusts to our care.

You see, I’m not sure if you’re aware of this or not, but there’s actually an invisible cord running from a person’s heart all the way down here to their wallet or their purse. If your heart is genuinely filled with love and gratitude toward God and a passion to see him exalted, it’s going to show up in a very tangible way in your spending habits—and particularly in how generously you invest the wealth God’s entrusted to you in things that will bring the most glory to God.

Perhaps you’re familiar with the words of Jesus in Luke 6:45, where he states that it’s “out of the abundance of [a person’s] heart that his mouth speaks.” The words we speak don’t just come out of nowhere but rather are a reflection of our heart. That’s what Jesus means when he says that it’s “out of the abundance of [a person’s] heart that his mouth speaks.” However, I think we can also say that it’s “out of the abundance of [a person’s] heart that his hand spends.” The way we manage money reflects our hearts just as much as our words do.

And it’s with this in mind that I’d like to spend this Sunday and the next two Sundays looking at Matthew 6 and talking about the subject of money. The way we handle money is one of the most reliable indicators there is of the condition of our hearts—and specifically of our love for the Lord, our devotion to the Lord, our delight in the Lord, and our trust in the Lord. Our spending habits are inseparably connected to all these things. And since Jesus wasn’t shy about talking about money, we won’t be shy about talking about money either.  

Now, to be clear, the immediate occasion for this miniseries of sermons is the Season of Giving our church is having during the month of March for our parking lot expansion. However, that Season of Giving actually isn’t going to be a big area of focus in these sermons. I’ll talk about it in many of the announcements this month at the conclusion of our worship services. But the sermons themselves will be focused primarily on biblical teaching and on giving as it relates to our discipleship. As we’re reminded each week when we recite the Great Commission, our church’s goal isn’t ultimately to make parking lots but to make disciples. So, I’ll be addressing the subject of giving very much from the perspective of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus in this particular area of our lives.

And as we examine the biblical passage before us today of Matthew 6:19-21, we’ll see the mentality that disciples of Jesus should have when it comes to wealth. And that is that treasures in heaven are vastly superior to treasures on earth. That’s the main idea of this passage. Treasures in heaven are vastly superior to treasures on earth.

So, let’s walk through these verses together and see what they have to say to us. Looking first at verse 19, Jesus says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal….” Now, the reason Jesus says this is because he knows the tendency of our hearts. He knows that we have a tendency to spend the vast majority of our energy accumulating as much material wealth as we possibly can.

And I suspect that this is even more of an issue for us in our modern consumeristic society than it was for Jesus’s original audience. After all, we’re continually bombarded with advertisements that try to convince us that having a better life begins with acquiring more possessions. And even if we’re aware of biblical teachings to the contrary, these advertisements and the simple fact that we’re immersed in a consumeristic and materialistic society have an incredibly powerful effect on us. And it’s very easy to allow ourselves to just go along with the idea that accumulating more money and more possessions will make us truly happy. That’s a key assumption of what’s often called the American Dream.

Yet Jesus warns us against this mentality. He says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.” Now, it’s important to recognize that this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a savings account or an emergency fund or even a retirement portfolio. There are numerous places in the Bible in which these kinds of things are commended. For example, in Proverbs 6:6-8, we learn about the ant and how the ant spends the summer gathering food and preparing for the winter. There are also plenty of other places in Proverbs in which we’re encouraged to work hard and plan for the future and make wise financial investments. In addition, we also learn in 1 Timothy 6:17 that it’s not wrong for those who are wealthy to enjoy the financial blessings God’s given them. Speaking specifically to those who are rich, Paul says that God “richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” Part of the reason God’s given us material blessings is because he wants us to enjoy them.

So, back in Matthew 6, what’s Jesus talking about when he says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth”? Well, first of all, notice that Jesus speaks of laying up these treasures for ourselves. He says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.” So, he’s prohibiting a self-centered mentality in which we accumulate earthly wealth and possessions only for ourselves and for the pleasure we believe these things will give us.

Also, notice that Jesus describes these earthly things as “treasures.” He doesn’t just say that we shouldn’t lay up “wealth” on earth but says, more specifically, that we shouldn’t lay up “treasures” on earth. And I believe Jesus uses that word “treasures” in order to highlight the way in which we often not only enjoy the things of this world but also go beyond mere enjoyment and actually “treasure” them. We don’t just enjoy nice things—we “treasure” them by looking to them as our ultimate source of satisfaction, security, and significance. That’s the mentality Jesus is warning us against.

And in the second part of the verse, Jesus goes on to identify a key reason why this mentality is so problematic. He says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.” In ancient times, people would often invest considerable wealth in their clothing, which was much more expensive to make back then than it is now. However, as Jesus points out, these expensive articles of clothing could easily be eaten by “moths.” In addition, it was also common for people to invest their wealth in an enormous food supply, which could easily be eaten by rats and other pests. That’s the “rust” Jesus refers to—since original Greek word translated here as “rust” is more literally translated as “eating.” And, of course, if people tried to hoard gold or gems or other valuable objects in their homes, thieves could always break in and steal those things. So, the point Jesus is making is that all of the earthly treasures people so often spend their entire lives seeking to accumulate can very easily be taken away.

And even if they’re not taken away from us while we live, they’ll certainly be taken away from us when we die. As Job says so well in Job 1:21, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.” In other words, “I came into this world with nothing, and I’m going to leave this world…with nothing.” This means that all of the earthly treasures that we often spend so much of our time and energy pursuing and that we’re often so attached to are all incredibly temporary. They’re here today but gone tomorrow. So, if your main focus in life is on accumulating these earthly treasures, there will be a day in the not-too-distant future when you’ll have nothing.

I once visited a museum in Virginia that had quite a few artifacts from the Civil War. And I learned that after the war ended, all of this Confederate money that once held great value in the South was now no longer worth the paper it was printed on. And this museum happened to have some of this Confederate money, but they said it was actually very hard to find because, after the war, people just burned it. It was useless and no longer had any worth. And in a similar manner, there will come a day when people who have invested everything they have in the things of this world will discover that they possess nothing of eternal value. All of their currency will suddenly become utterly worthless.

This is why, in the next verse, Jesus urges us to invest our lives in another kind of currency—one that has eternal value. Jesus says in verse 20, “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” So, in contrast to laying up treasures on earth, Jesus tells us to lay up treasures in heaven—because those are the kinds of treasures that will last for all eternity.

In other words, Jesus is basically telling us to make a smart investment. Think about it like this. Imagine that I was able to transport all of us in this room back in time to twenty years ago—to the year 2005. And let’s say you received an unexpected inheritance from a rich relative and wanted to invest that money in the company that would bring you the most return on your investment. And two options were before you: Blockbuster and Amazon. Knowing what you know now, which one would you choose? Well, I’m quite certain you’d invest in Amazon. And I’m also pretty sure you wouldn’t just invest your inheritance money in Amazon but that you’d also scrape together all of the additional money you could possibly scrape together and put all of that money into Amazon as well. That would be the smart thing to do.

And that’s pretty much what Jesus is telling us to do in this verse. He’s basically saying, “Don’t be foolish. Make the smart investment.” Even though Jesus isn’t telling us to be selfish, he is appealing to our self-interest. So, when you think about it, our problem so often isn’t that we seek too much prosperity but that we don’t seek nearly enough. We content ourselves with large houses and nice cars and so many things that we don’t really need instead of laying up treasures that will last forever—treasures in heaven.

Now, it’s important to recognize that Jesus isn’t in any way teaching that we can earn a place in heaven. The Bible’s very clear that there’s only one way to heaven, and that’s through Jesus. When we were thoroughly sinful and condemned in our sin and helpless to do anything to rescue ourselves, God came to our rescue. And he did that by sending his own Son Jesus into this world. Jesus entered this world as a man, lived a life a sinless perfection, and then voluntarily allowed himself to be crucified in order to suffer the penalty for our sins. All of our sins were placed on his shoulders, and he suffered the punishment for those sins so we wouldn’t have to. Jesus then he rose from the dead so that he’s now able to rescue us—provided that we put our trust exclusively in him to do that.

So, the first step to laying up treasures in heaven actually has nothing to do with the way we handle money and instead has everything to do with what or who we’re trusting in to get us to heaven. Are we trusting in ourselves and our own moral accomplishments or religious observances, or are we trusting in Jesus alone as the only one who’s able to rescue us from our sins and give us a place in heaven?

However, after we’ve put our trust in Jesus and are granted a place in heaven through faith alone, the Bible’s clear that we can earn greater rewards in heaven through the way we live. So, even though we can’t ever earn heaven itself, we can earn rewards in heaven. And that’s primarily what Jesus is referring to here in Matthew 6 when he tells us to “lay up…treasures in heaven.”

So, how can we do that? Well, I believe one of the most important ways in which we lay up heavenly treasures is by using our earthly treasures and the earthly resources God’s entrusted to us for heavenly purposes. We should be investing our earthly resources in things that have eternal value and giving generously to causes that will facilitate the advance of the gospel. After all, everything we possess is only Monopoly money anyway—or at least it will be in the future. But right now, we have a chance to use our Monopoly money for things that really matter and that will make an eternal impact. And when we do that, not only will it make an impact on other people, it’ll also benefit us since we’ll be laying up treasures in heaven. So, ask yourself, “How can I use the earthly wealth God’s temporarily entrusted to me to accomplish things that have eternal value?”

And, of course, there are also numerous other ways we can lay up treasures in heaven as well—such as seeking to lead other people to faith in Jesus, investing in the spiritual growth of fellow Christians in the context of discipling relationships, meeting various practical needs of the people around us, and serving in and through the church. Are these things kinds of things you’re giving your life to? You know, each of us only has a limited amount of time and energy. So, to what degree are you devoting the limited amount of time and energy you have to things that have eternal value?

In fact, you might consider framing the question like this: how important will the things you’re giving your life to right now be in 100 trillion years? How important will your promotion be? How important will that brand new SUV be? How important will your investment portfolio be? All of these things that we so often give so much energy to pursuing—how important will they be in 100 trillion years? Is it not infinitely better for us to lay up treasures in heaven by investing our earthly resources in things that have eternal value? Friends, whatever you do, don’t give your life to building sandcastles that will soon be washed away with the coming tide. Instead, do what Jesus says and “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”

We then read a very striking statement in verse 21. After Jesus tells his disciples to lay up treasures in heaven, he highlights a very important reason why they should do this. He states, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In other words, the location of your treasure matches the location of your heart.

This means a couple of things. First of all, the location of our treasure—that is, whether we’re laying up heavenly treasures or earthly treasures—reveals the location of our heart. People who are focused on laying up earthly treasure show that their heart is fundamentally oriented toward this world, while people who are focused on laying up heavenly treasure show that heart is fundamentally oriented toward heaven.

And as we think about this, it’s important for us to understand that the “heart”—as that word is used in the Bible—refers not merely to our emotions but rather to the entirety of our inner self. Our heart is the core of our being and the control center that determines the way we live. Everything that we say and do comes from our heart. So, I believe it’s accurate to say that there’s nothing about us that’s more important than the condition of our heart.

And Jesus is teaching here that the location of our treasure reveals the location of our heart. Think about that—especially as it relates to the way you use the wealth God’s entrusted to you. It might be uncomfortable to think about sometimes, but your spending patterns are like a window into year heart. They reveal what’s truly important to you and what your highest priorities actually are.

Yet, at the same time, I believe Jesus may also be communicating that some of this can work in the opposite direction as well. As I said, I believe a good paraphrase of verse 21 is that the location of your treasure matches the location of your heart. So, not only does the way we handle money reveal the condition of our heart, it also affects the condition of our heart.

For example, imagine that you invest your life savings in a certain company—let’s say Coca-Cola. If you invest everything you have in Coca-Cola, you’re naturally going to be quite interested in how Coca-Cola is doing. So, for me personally, I have no idea who the CEO of Coca-Cola is or who sits on their board or what kinds of initiatives Coca-Cola is currently pursuing or what their 5-year plan is or pretty much anything else about that company’s direction. I know they presumably plan to continue making soda, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge. However, if the entirety of your life savings was invested in Coca-Cola, I imagine you’d probably know the answers to most—if not all—of those questions. And you’d also undoubtedly be monitoring the stock prices of Coca-Cola very carefully.

Similarly, the more we engage in the behavior of laying up treasures in heaven, I believe it’s natural for our hearts to follow our investment and for our hearts to become more heavenly-oriented. So, even though I believe the primary direction of influence is our hearts influencing our behavior, I believe it’s also true that our behavior can influence our hearts. When we lay up treasures in heaven, it has a profound effect on our heart.

So, in light of what Jesus says in these three verses about laying up treasures in heaven and investing in things that have eternal value, let me encourage you to think about something very specific—and that is what your giving to the church might look like if you really took these verses seriously. Now, let me be clear: if you’re a guest with us this morning, I want to state very clearly that we don’t expect you to give anything. We’re not asking you for a dime. We’re a lot more interested in making sure you understand the gospel and what it means to have a relationship with Jesus than we are in anything else. But for those who are Christians and who count this church as your church, what would your giving to the church look like if you really took these verses seriously?

And, by the way, I’m not talking about the Season of Giving for the parking lot but just your regular giving. In fact, I’ll phrase the question in an even more direct way: if you really believed what Jesus teaches here about the existence and lasting value of treasures in heaven, what percentage of your paycheck would you consistently give to the church? Just take a moment and think of that number: 5 percent? 10 percent? 15 percent? Even 20 percent? What would taking these verses seriously look like for you? 

Of course, the percentage we see modeled in numerous places in the Bible is 10 percent—which is what the word “tithe” literally means. That’s what was required of the Israelites under the Old Testament law and also what several individuals such as Abraham and Jacob did even before the law was given. And even though we, as New Testament Christians, aren’t “under the law” in the same way the Israelites were, I believe it’s still entirely accurate to say that 10 percent is the amount that’s consistently modeled and commended in the Bible. 

Yet there are also many passages in the New Testament that speak of giving at an even higher level than that—according to the desire God places within our hearts. And I can tell you from experience that there’s tremendous joy and blessing to be found in generous giving in that way. To be candid with you, there were several years when I had the privilege of giving 30% of my personal income—and it was an absolute joy for me to do that. Now, full disclaimer—that was before I had kids. But even with four kinds, Becky and I still find incredible joy in giving significantly above a tithe.

So, here’s my challenge for you. I guess we can call it the Giving Challenge. If you feel the Holy Spirit prompting you to give a certain amount, be obedient to that prompting and step out in faith that God will take care of you and commit today even to give that amount for the next 8 weeks. That’s the challenge. Commit yourself to giving a specific percentage of your paycheck for the next 8 weeks. And again, this challenge is only directed toward Christians who count this church as your church. In light of what we’ve seen in Matthew 6 this morning about the existence and lasting value of treasures in heaven, make a commitment to give a specific percentage of your paycheck for the next 8 weeks. As I said, it might be 5 percent, 10 percent, 15 percent, or even more—whatever is a good next step for where you are right now and what you believe God’s prompting you to do.

Then after the 8 weeks is up, you can reassess your giving. At that point, you’ll be free from your Giving Challenge commitment. However, my guess is that you’ll want to continue with that same level of giving. And I believe that for a number of reasons. One of them is related to what we’ve learned this morning from verse 21 and how the act of laying up treasures in heaven affects our heart. Our heart naturally follows our investments.

So, if you’re consciously putting your earthly treasure toward heaven and toward heavenly ends, your heart is going to follow that. You’ll find yourself thinking a lot more about heaven and heavenly priorities and a heavenly way of living than you would if you weren’t actively laying up treasures in heaven. I don’t even think it would be an overstatement to say that, for some people, a simple change in your giving habits will revolutionize your spiritual life and your relationship with God. Think about it like this. Have you ever considered the possibility that the reason you’re not further along spiritually than you are right now is because you haven’t been giving faithfully? Could it be that you’re being “held back a grade” so to speak in your spiritual advancement simply because your giving isn’t what it should be?

So, when some of you accept this challenge and start giving the percentage of your paycheck you believe God’s prompting you to give, I wouldn’t be surprised if you see enormous spiritual progress in your life even in areas you didn’t think were related to your giving. So, again, what do you believe God’s calling you to give out of your paycheck for the next 8 weeks? What percentage of your income does he want you to give?

And I’ll even say this: if you commit to giving a certain amount for the next 8 weeks, and, at the end of the 8 weeks, you don’t feel immensely blessed by God—and that blessing could be financial or it could simply be spiritual—just let us know and we’ll gladly give you a full refund of everything you contributed during that 8-week period of time. That’s how much I believe you’ll experience the blessing of God in your life as a result of this. And again, I’m speaking here from personal experience.

So, if you want to officially accept this Giving Challenge and be encouraged to follow through with it by the act of making it official, then take a Connection Card, fill out your information, and write, “Accepting the Giving Challenge” at the bottom. Just write that at the bottom in the prayer requests section—“Accepting the Giving Challenge.” If you want, you’re also welcome to even put the percentage you want to give on there—or not. That’s completely up to you. And don’t worry, we’re not keeping track of anything. This is purely for your own benefit and encouragement. Or maybe you need some more time to think about the exact percentage, but you do know you want to do something. That’s totally fine. I still encourage you to write “Accepting the Giving Challenge” on a Connection Card—and then drop that card into the black box near the rear doors of this room.

And for those who do that, we’ll send you a book by Paul David Tripp titled, Redeeming Money and with the subtitle How God Reveals and Reorients Our Hearts. Hopefully that’ll provide additional encouragement for you as we all continue to grow as disciples of Jesus in this area. And by the way, for those who really need to talk to their spouse about this before doing anything, that’s okay. We’ll be offering this exact same Giving Challenge next week as well.