Matthew 6:19-24
Study By: Bob Deffinbaugh
“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 no break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
It is not too difficult to think of examples of men and women who have laid up for themselves treasures upon the earth, thus showing where their heart truly was. Several come to mind:
Example 1 – The story of Achan (Joshua 6:17-18, 7:1-26). In verse 18, God instructs the children of Israel to attack Jericho, to abstain from the accursed things, and to bring all the silver, gold, and vessels of bronze and iron to be consecrated to the Lord into the treasury of the Lord. Now as they attack Jericho, one of the men disobeys the command of the Lord and keeps for himself a beautiful Babylonian garment, 200 shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing 50 pounds. Because of this man’s sin, Israel is defeated at the battle of Ai, and this man is put to death because his heart coveted after these riches instead of honoring the Lord and doing as He had asked.
Example 2 – The Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-22). In this story, a rich young ruler comes to ask Jesus a question. The question he asks is how he might have eternal life. Jesus answers the man by telling him that he needs to obey the commandments, and the rich young ruler responds, “Which ones?” Jesus responds, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” The young ruler responds that he has kept all these things and asks, “What do I still lack?” This is where Jesus drops the bomb on the rich young ruler. He says, “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor” and “follow Me.” Where was this young man’s heart? You can tell by his reaction. His heart is controlled by his wealth and riches. This young ruler is wealthy and supposedly has a lot going for him, but he is not willing to let those things go in order to follow Jesus. He is willing to love his neighbor and do the commands that pertain to his fellow man, but when it comes down to loving the Father and having no other gods before Him, he is not willing to let go of the wealth he obtained here on earth in order to gain eternal life.
We have seen a couple of examples of people who laid up their treasures on the earth, and the end result for both of these situations was death. Their hearts were set upon the things of this earth, and they were willing to disobey God for the sake of temporal riches that do not last. The things we gather here on earth are only temporal; they do not last for eternity.
Where is your treasure? So many things come to mind when I think of what Jesus is saying in these three verses that begin our passage. Are you earthly-minded or heavenly-minded? Are you investing in the future eternity to come, or are you investing in the here and now? Are you enthralled with the temporary versus the permanent? Now obviously all of these are asking the same thing, but it is very important that we fully grasp this thought. Jesus uses the three examples below to show how the things we deem most important are only temporary. He uses the moth, rust, and the thief. We can all think of examples of these things in our lives. For instance, someone drives a new car off the lot so proudly. They love this vehicle. They have the windows rolled down and the music cranked as they want the world to know they have just bought this new car! The next thing you know, a little humility comes as they are sideswiped, and their new shiny car is destroyed and no longer of value.
The Moth: We all know that when moths get into our clothes, they eat holes right through them. The moth is a tiny little butterfly-looking animal that doesn’t appear harmful at all. But it will destroy the most expensive, elaborate fabric you could ever own.
Rust: I grew up in Canada where roads are salted in the winter, and the effect of that salt on cars is brutal. We had an old, brown Dodge Ram truck that had holes in the bed because of rust; it even had holes in the floorboards due to rust. You could have the nicest car in the world, but eventually, because of the snow and slush and all the salt that gets on the outside of your car, it eventually rusts. Rust destroys, as moths do, the property and riches we work so hard to obtain.
The Thief: With money and riches comes great fear of someone taking them, so mankind does all in his power to protect what he has. He puts walls around his house so no one can get in. He has security guards guarding them at all times and hidden safes for his rare jewels. What does the thief do? He breaks in and takes what the wealthy man has, and he will do anything to get it.
What do you deem as valuable, because what you deem as valuable shows you where your heart is? Maybe it is money and wealth; maybe it is power and the desire to be recognized as a leader; maybe it is looking spiritual on the outside so that people think you have it together. Maybe it is popularity and acceptance through nice clothes, a home, or an X-box gaming console. Maybe it is your family and how you have raised great kids. Here, Jesus is calling us to change our minds from the temporary to the eternal, from the things that are passing by to the things that are permanent. You never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer! If you did, we would all be shocked because we know the earthly treasures we store up cannot be taken with us. They are only temporary. All through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus asks us to repent, to change our minds and our attitudes, and to be like those in Hebrews 11 who had eternity in their hearts and the promises God gave them.
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desired a better that is a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:13-16).
In contrast, Jesus says in Matthew 6:20, “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Here Jesus is talking about laying up eternal treasures that do not fade away. What are these treasures Jesus is talking about? First Peter 1:3-6 states:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.
What an awesome thing to know that as believers our inheritance is waiting for us, that as children of God, we will inherit eternity! Being with Christ, that is our reward! Those who strive to store up treasures here on earth will be disappointed because those treasures will only pass away.
Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
At the end of our life as believers, we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for our lives here on the earth. Whatever we have laid upon that foundation, whether gold or hay, will go through the fire and either last or not last. Those believers who seek to build up wealth and riches on earth will suffer loss and will be saved as through fire, whereas those who strive to lay up treasures in heaven will receive a reward. The greatest of these treasures is that we can enter eternity fully pardoned and set free from the bondage of sin because of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
So the question arises, “How do we lay up treasures in heaven?” The answer is by living the way God has asked us to live and following after Him in all that we do. For example, loving your neighbor as yourself – if a man has a need for a shirt and you have extra, give him one – being a cheerful giver, honoring God in your marriage, guarding your mind against adulterous thoughts, sharing the good news of the gospel with those around you. There are so many things which all narrow down to loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself.
In the final statement in verse 21, Jesus goes back to the heart: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” One of the Ten Commandments states: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). When we set our hearts on the things of this earth and fall to the temptation of being worldly in our ways, we are committing idolatry because we are no longer serving God. Rather, we have put our riches above God, and we are serving them. They have become our god and our life. Jesus challenges us, as He challenged those He was talking to that day in the crowd, to ask ourselves where our treasure is. If your treasure is on earth and the things of this world, your heart will be there as well. If your heart is focused on the Father and on laying up treasures in heaven, your heart will be there.
I am reminded of the movie, The Mummy, and a character called Beni. Toward the end of the movie, when they find the great treasure room, Beni has lost all sense of control and is controlled by the riches and wealth present amongst them. I am sure Beni had visions of living the life of luxury and being the wealthiest man in the world, but that is not the way the story ends. Something happens in the temple, and the money room begins to fill up with sand, and the door closes so they cannot escape. Beni has the opportunity to get out, but the power of the riches and wealth are his downfall. He attempts to fill his pockets and drag out bags filled with gold, which are too heavy. Eventually the door closes, and Beni is trapped amongst all those jewels and riches, never to see the light of day again and never able to use the riches he deemed so valuable. The power of those riches controlled him, and they were the cause of his death. Let us not get to the end of our lives having pursued the wealth and riches of this world only to realize that we pursued and were controlled by the wrong things.
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