Heavenly Treasure

Jesus instructed his follower to store heavenly treasures. Heavenly treasures are safe from consumption or deterioration. In this blog, we will tackle one of the most important principles for every Christian believer.

Highlights
  1. When God has your money, God has your heart.
  2. Two treasuries, two visions, and two masters.
Introduction

There are around 300 verses in the gospels about money. Now I say that is a lot. That number of verses alone would prove that Jesus is serious about money. Why? Because money could be a reason why someone will not follow Jesus or someone will give up on him. This is why our objective is that a proper understanding of money should result in a life of faith, stewardship, and generosity.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

Where a person spends their money is proof of what they truly value. Attitudes toward wealth matter because our hearts are owned by whatever we consider our “treasure.” How many of us here cannot wait for the release of a new gadget, like the iPhone 12? Or can we not wait for our salary to buy those new shoes or new bags? Where you put your money is an indication of where your heart is.

heart
When God has your money, God has your heart.

Does God has your money, or the money has your heart? I want us to pause a moment here and do a self-evaluation. If you are going to look at how close God is in my heart, you don’t look at what I am doing in the church. Don’t look at me and say, well, he is preaching in front, which means that his heart is very close to God. No. That is not the parameter. The real indication of how close my heart is with God is what I am doing with my material possession. What I am doing with my money is a clear indication of whether God is close in my heart. When God has your money, God has your heart.   The defining element is not the amount of money we have but where our hearts are centered. And there is a specific lesson that our Lord Jesus himself gave with regards to this. And Matthew, one of the eyewitnesses, has documented this in Chapter 6 of his book. Let us start in verse 19.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Matthew 6:19

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth

To which some people would say what? Does this mean that the Bible does not encourage bank account or savings or wise investment? Does Jesus say that we shouldn’t possess anything? Some of you who are reading this blog would probably agree with me that the reason why anyone would be in the wealthiest country per capita right now is not that they want to tan their skin. No, the reason is that people want to store up some treasures. But why did Jesus give this commandment to his follower? Now to understand this, let us look closer at the verse.

The verse talks about treasure, thisavrós in Greek, which means accumulation or stockpile of something valuable. If we are going to use a more common word for storing treasure, it means hoarding something valuable. In other words, the selfish collection of goods and extravagant luxury. He’s talking about that which is beyond what we can use. Jesus said, “Do not store up or don’t pile up stuff,” and here’s the key, underline it in your Bible. – for yourselves. Isn’t that the key?

From this definition itself, I believe the verse is making more sense now. Jesus said, do not hoard or covet something valuable for yourselves. Or for your benefit or own satisfaction only. In other words, do not be selfish. Jesus said, don’t do that. It is wrong to be greedy, and it is inappropriate to be covetous.

Jesus said you are making a mistake because treasures on earth are temporary. You don’t have to be a follower of God to agree on the verse’s remaining part.

where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal

There is no security in the earthly treasures. No matter how good your phone specification right now, one year from now, there will be something better. No matter how expensive your shoes or your bags, it will be outdated. Some of you will reason out, well, I am not using my shoes and bags; I already put it in my cabinet. Well, wait for 60 or 70 years, either somebody will use it or sell it.

Moth, rust, and thieves represent those forces that cause earthly treasures to diminish in value and destroyed. Jesus gave an alternative.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:20

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven

Rather than collecting material valuables in this life, Jesus says, “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” If you will store up treasure, store it in a secure place.

Interestingly, Jesus did not identify these treasures to us. But if you are living in the time of Jesus, you will understand what he is saying. The idea of storing up treasures in heaven was prominent in Israel’s history. It corresponds to acts of righteousness. In more specific instructions, it is about providing for your family, especially if you are the husband. It is about giving to the poor, helping the needy, praying, fasting, or any other righteous deeds that the Bible instructs.

Working diligently, investing, and pursuing a successful business for righteous living is storing treasures in heaven. On the other hand, piling up stuff and material possession for extravagant luxury to the point of becoming materialistic is storing up treasures in the earth.

where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal

Moths, rust, and thieves destroy the treasures on earth, but not the treasures in heaven. Now that we have clearly defined what is the difference between storing treasure in heaven and storing it on earth, the next logical question is, how would we know if we are doing it correctly? We don’t want to work diligently only to find out at the end that we are just storing treasures on earth. Jesus, in the next verse, will be able to give us a barometer to check ourselves.

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. Matthew 6:22

The eye is the lamp of the body

Our eyes are the entrance to our hearts and minds, and, as such, they provide a doorway to our very souls or soul/spirit to our dichotomous friends. Again, it leads back to the heart. Remember our main point. When God has your money, God has your heart. Your eye will reveal it to you. Jesus started with the right kind of vision.

If your eyes are good

Talking about a good eye. In ancient literature, a good eye means a generous eye. A person who is ready to help the needy. Somebody willing to give his material possession.

your whole body will be full of light

If the eye is good (the person has moral integrity and seeks others’ welfare), your whole body will be full of light. In other words, it will emulate. People will notice that, and you will attract them because you have a good eye. But there is another kind of eye.

But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Matthew 6:23
But if your eyes are bad

The word bad here means evil. There is also an evil eye. The “evil eye” in the ancient world is one that enviously covets what belongs to another; it is a greedy or avaricious eye. The eye is ungenerous, stingy, and grudging—the exact opposite of the good eye. And if your eyes are bad.

your whole body will be full of darkness

It is fascinating that Jesus used our choice on where we are going to store our treasures with our spiritual perception. A generous spirit is like a seeing eye that floods your spiritual life with perception. On the contrary, a grudging and ungenerous spirit will be full of darkness or can never perceive spiritual realities. A person who is so focused on material possession is like a blind person, a whole body of darkness, and no spiritual perception.

options

How do we know whether we are storing ourselves the treasure in heaven or treasure on earth? Our attitudes will reveal it to us. Do we accumulate wealth so that we can use it for His glory or our glory? Do we use our material possession to help others or to pile it up for ourselves? If we are going to do a self-check, can we say we are generous enough or grudgingly ungenerous? Can we say that we got the right eye or the evil eye? Answering all these questions will reveal who our master is. And this is where Jesus concluded this sermon.

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:24

No one can serve two masters

Some people will say, well, I am working for two jobs, so technically, I can serve two masters. Or others will tell, well I have my wife and her mother is living with me, I can serve two masters. But the word “serve” here indicates the work of a slave, not an employee. One might work for two employers, but a slave is the sole property of one master, which implies an exclusive owner who demands complete service.

You cannot serve both God and Money

The choicest we have between storing ourselves treasures here on earth or treasures in heaven will reveal who got our hearts. If God has our money, He got our heart as well. And this will clearly show who our master is. Is it God, or is it money?

Conclusion
choices

Jesus gave us three options. There are two treasuries, two visions, and two masters given in this text. And whether we agree or not, we are making our choices every single day. Are we going to lay up our treasure on earth or in heaven? Are we going to exist in light, or whether we’re going to live in darkness? Will, our master, be God, or our master will be money? We are making these choices every day. If you realize that you are investing in the wrong investment after this message, here is the good news – it is never too late. There is a reason why you are reading this blog right now, which is not an accident. Our God is a God of second chances.

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