Treasures in heaven

In Matthew 6:19 Jesus made these statements:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Like so many things Jesus said, this passage seems simple and almost irrelevant at first. The phrase “store up for yourselves treasures on earth” gives us the impression that Jesus is talking about someone who has millions of dollars tucked away in a Swiss bank account somewhere, or maybe some rich old miser whose mattress is full of money. Because of this, most of us probably read this passage and think it has little to do with the average person who is just scraping to get by. But the reality is this passage is a lot more applicable to all of us than we might think.

The real issue Jesus was addressing in this passage is where we put our trust. All of us want to know that our needs are going to be met – not only present needs, but future ones as well. Consequently it is very natural for us to want to “store up” for ourselves a “treasure” of wealth so that we can rest easy and assured that our needs will be met. Not having a “treasure” of some kind stored up leaves us feeling vulnerable, and scared – afraid that misfortune of some kind will befall us.

It is interesting that in verse 11 of this chapter, in the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he said “Give us this day our daily bread.” Notice he didn’t mention tomorrow! Then in the last verse of this chapter he said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” In both of these passages Jesus is making it clear that God does not want us to worry about where our provision will come from in the future. God wants us to trust that we will always have enough – not because we have some huge lump of money “stored up” in a bank account for a “rainy day” but because we know God loves us and is faithful to provide for us.

Some people believe that they can have a treasure stored up on earth and still be trusting God to meet their needs. In theory, this may be true, but the fact is Jesus said, “DO NOT store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” And, to make his point even clearer, he said, “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Then, so we wouldn’t be left wondering what he meant by this statement, Jesus told us how to do this in Luke 12:33-34: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven.”

Essentially what Jesus is telling us through this passage is to transfer our savings accounts from earthly banks or other financial institutions to heaven. Jesus makes the simple but powerful observation that treasure stored up in some earthly account is vulnerable to “moths” and “thieves” whereas treasure stored up “in heaven” is completely protected. But not only will our “treasure” be protected if we choose to store it up in heaven, Jesus also said by doing so we will provide for ourselves a purse “that will not wear out” and an “unfailing treasure.” In other words, we will always have enough to meet any need we might ever have!

There isn’t a financial institution on earth that will give you a guarantee that your treasure is completely protected, let alone one that will promise you an “unfailing treasure!” Why not take Jesus at his word, and make yourself an “unfailing treasure in heaven?”