Treasure in Heaven

Today's Reading

Read Matthew 6:19-24: "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... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also... No one can serve two masters... You cannot serve God and money."

Then read Colossians 3:1-4: "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God."

Reflection

Jesus now moves from the secret practices of faith (giving, prayer, fasting) to the orientation of the heart. The question is simple and devastating: What do you treasure most?

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth." Jesus is not condemning savings accounts or responsible provision. He is exposing the futility of building your life around things that cannot last. Earthly treasures are vulnerable — moth, rust, and thieves can take them all. Heavenly treasures are secure.

But the key sentence is the one that follows: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Notice: Jesus does not say "where your heart is, there your treasure will be." He reverses it. The treasure comes first. Your heart follows your treasure. This means that the way to change your heart is to redirect your treasure.

N.T. Wright clarifies:

"Jesus is not saying 'money is bad' or 'possessions are evil.' He is saying that whatever you treasure most will own your heart. You cannot serve God and be possessed by your possessions at the same time."

Then comes the striking saying about the eye. "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light." In Jewish idiom, a "good eye" meant generosity and a "bad eye" meant stinginess. If you see the world through generous eyes, your whole life is illuminated. If you see the world through grasping, hoarding eyes, darkness fills you.

The section climaxes with one of Jesus's most absolute statements: "No one can serve two masters... You cannot serve God and money." The word translated "money" is Mammon — which Jesus personifies as a rival god. You can use money, but the moment money uses you, it has become your master.

Bonhoeffer strips away any evasion:

"Where your treasure is — there is your trust, your security, your consolation, and your god. Treasure in heaven means treasure that is in Christ."

Going Deeper

This passage is not about guilt but about freedom. The person enslaved to accumulation is never at peace — always anxious, always guarding, always wanting more. The person whose treasure is in heaven is free to be generous, because the things that matter most cannot be taken away. Today, ask honestly: What am I serving? What owns my heart?