Jesus spends a large portion of His Sermon on the Mount addressing our attitudes toward material possessions. In Matthew 6:19–24, He gives four motivations to store up treasure in heaven. 

Matthew 6:19–24 19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth^.1

First, the location of your treasure determines its longevity. In verses 19–20, Jesus contrasts earthly treasures with heavenly treasures in terms of how long they last. Treasures on earth are vulnerable to both destruction and theft, but treasures in heaven are truly secure. A life oriented toward the here-andnow must grapple with this truth: All earthly treasure can wear out or be taken away. Banks fail, markets crash, currencies fluctuate, properties deteriorate and lose their value, and economies plummet. With those changes go our earthly possessions. Even what remains in our grasp will not stay with us after death, because “we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either” (1 Timothy 6:7). We will leave it all behind.

But every cent joyfully given in the name of Christ for the spread of the Gospel, the fellowship of the saints, the edification of the Church, and the glory of God will generate interest forever and never lose its value. No destruction can touch it; no thief can take it. If you invest in the cause of Christ, your investment is secure. Let’s send our treasures ahead of us to glory, because there they last forever.

The second motivation is found in verse 21: The location of your treasure moves your heart. For many years I assumed that the words “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” mean that your treasure will invariably follow your heart, i.e., what you love determines what you do with your money. That principle is true. But later while meditating on this passage I realized that the word order is intentional. Your thoughts, desires, and emotions will naturally be set on the place where your treasures already lie.

Think of a man with two cars. One is a rusty 1981 hatchback with 318,000 miles and hasn’t started for three years. The other is a $90,000 sports car fresh from the showroom. One night during a storm, the man is awakened by a thunderclap, a falling tree, and the sound of twisting metal and shattering glass. Which car is causing the pounding of his heart in his chest? Which of the two is he wondering about as he dreads looking out the dining room window? His heart is running toward the treasure.

Christians long to have our affections freed from this passing world and set on Christ and His kingdom. Verse 21 reveals how this can happen by God’s grace. Do you want a deeper thirst for God? Do you want your heart to be liberated from infatuation with this world? Do you want to grow in your love for Jesus and His work around this world? Start giving to His cause, and your heart will follow. You won’t be able to stop thinking about God’s kingdom, praying for His working, and giving yourself more and more to Christ for His purposes because your treasure is already there.

Jesus begins His third motive with an example. The quality and proper functioning of your eye affect the whole body. If your eyesight is clear, then the whole body benefits. If your eye isn’t working, you won’t be able to walk carefully or make decisions that are good for the rest of the body because your perception is off.

The Lord’s lesson in this example is that the location of your treasure affects your perception. Our view of money influences our entire lives. It is impossible to have a life given to Christ in every area except the area of material possessions. If your heart and your treasures are in the world, your values will be worldly. Your discernment will be worldly. Your decisions will be turned toward the world. The location of your treasures will affect your perception about everything.

The opposite is also true. If you store up treasures in heaven out of love for Christ and His cause, that decision will affect the rest of your life. You will evaluate things in light of the eternal kingdom. You will have light to make decisions for the glory of God. You will have enlightened perception for all of life.

Finally, Jesus motivates us with this reality in verse 24: The location of your treasure reveals your loyalty. You cannot be fully loyal to both God and wealth. When those two come into conflict, the decisions you make will reveal where your true loyalty lies.

It is easy to say that our loyalty is to Christ. But when earthly concerns clash with eternal concerns, what do we do? What or whom do we truly serve with our material goods? Jesus tells us to orient our lives toward heaven and store up treasure in heaven because the location of our treasure reveals our loyalty.

Money is simply a touchstone to reveal the orientation of our hearts. Eventually, Jesus arrives at Matthew 6:33: Seek first His kingdom. Orient your whole life toward His kingdom. Why? “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). Orient your life toward heaven, and lay up treasure in heaven because your Savior is there!

 

---