“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matt. 6:19-20).
I have a daughter who always seems to have candy stored somewhere. By the time her trick-or-treat stash is gone, she’s replenished it with more from her stocking. Some kids get “delayed gratification” at an early age, and — like the kids in the famous Stanford Marshmallow study ^1 — she never had a problem waiting to enjoy things.
In our text today, Jesus challenges us to play the long game, too. But he shifts our perspective to a much farther horizon. Like a guide bringing us to a grand vista at the top of a mountain, he lifts us to see the far edges of our existence. If what we do now lasts forever, then the smart play is to invest in eternity. Only a fool misses that (Luke 12:13-21).
Spiritual GPS
I used to lose my keys all the time before I got a keychain with Bluetooth tracking. Now I always know — if I lose them, I open the “Find My” app and see their exact location. Wouldn’t it be nice to locate your heart that well? Can we know ourselves? How do you check to find your motives, goals, and priorities? In our text, the Lord gives us a tracker for our hearts.
As they say in politics and journalism — “Follow the money.” Jesus says you’ll find your heart wherever you find your treasure (Matt. 6:21). Pull out your bank statements and receipts. Assess your discretionary spending. Have you prioritized security, status, or comfort? Do you chase achievement or pleasure? Do your kids come first? Your home? Of course, the Bible doesn’t condemn earning, enjoying, saving, or giving (Prov. 13:11; 14:23; 19:17; 21:20; 22:7). Money is a gift, but we must carefully avoid setting our hopes on it (Deut. 8:18; 1 Tim. 6:17). After all, Jesus doesn’t say serving two masters is difficult or dangerous, but impossible (Matt. 6:24).
Confederate Currency
Randy Alcorn compares earthly treasure to Confederate Currency at the end of the Civil War. While it has value in the short term, it will soon lose its value. Keep enough for your immediate needs, but convert what you can into currency with lasting worth. Alcorn writes, “As a Christian, you have inside knowledge of an eventual worldwide upheaval caused by Christ’s return.”
An eternal perspective changes everything. Investing only in earthly treasures isn’t just wrong — it’s dumb! It makes no sense at all. The Lord points to problems like rust, vermin, worms, moths, and thieves. Nothing here lasts. Nothing’s secure. Instead, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys” (Luke 12:33). Commenting on this passage in Luke, Walter Liefeld counsels, “be careful neither to blunt Jesus’ strong teaching as expressed in Luke regarding a life of abandonment and giving (cf. 6:27–36; 14:26, 33) nor to introduce teachings given to one audience into a discussion with another group … It is not the extent but the place of one’s possessions that is emphasized, because it is the direction of one’s ‘heart,’ heavenward or earthward, that is all important.” [^3]
Game Changing Applications
- Examine your spending. Look at your bank statement as a clue to ‘where your heart will be also.’
- Start and end your day looking to the far horizon. Sing about eternity, read about it, talk about it, pray about it & daydream.
- Conspire with God today as his secret agent. When you quietly do good or endure persecution, rejoice with the God who sees it and will reward you.
[^2]: The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
[^3]: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8, Matthew, Mark, Luke by D.A. Carson, Walter W. Wessel, and Walter L. Liefeld