Anchor My Faith

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Author: Stephen Weller
617 words, 3 minutes read time

Where Is Your Treasure Stored?

Scripture: Matthew 6:19, 24; Luke 12:33-34

With the previous lesson, we finished a short section that instructed us to not be anxious about life; the things we eat or what we drink or what we wear. With this lesson we will cover an even shorter section instructing us about what treasure to lay up and where.

^{Mt 6:19} “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. ^{Lk 12:33} 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. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Jesus continues his instruction to his disciples, now advising them about laying up treasures. Connecting back to the previous sections about covetousness, Jesus warns against storing up treasures here on earth where there can be damage or loss. This treasure he is speaking of would relate to the excess the rich man had who wanted to build bigger barns in which to store his grain and goods for himself to benefit from.

Instead of storing up treasure in the form of grain and goods (treasure that was common at the time of Jesus), the instruction is to sell these possessions so that others can benefit from them and then use the money obtained to help out the poor with their needs. This concept is taught by Paul in Philippians 2:4 ESV: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

The “moneybags” that Jesus speaks of is a metaphor for the place where one stores one’s treasures. Believers are provided with “moneybags in heaven” where they can store their treasure. These moneybags are eternal and will never grow old or wear out and in them one’s treasure is safe from being stolen by thieves or loss by some other means.

Adding treasure to heavenly moneybags through exceedingly great generosity, especially to the poor in need, is in contrast to the world’s preoccupation with possessions. Where we store our treasure has eternal implications, for Jesus warns that where one’s treasure is that is where you will find that one’s heart.

^{Mt 6:24} “No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.”

The word “serve” comes from the Greek “douleuein” and means “to be a slave, be subject to, obey, be devoted.” In a sense the master you serve, whether it be God or your possessions, owns you and you are to be devoted to it. Your heart can be aligned with only one of these masters, and it is very important which one is chosen because friendship with the world is enmity with God. Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4 ESV). What we do with our treasure is an indication of how our heart is aligned.

Conclusion

When asking Google to search the question, “How much does the average American give to their church every year?” one obtains the following information. Of the three largest religious groups (Christians, Jews, and Muslims), Christians gave, on average, $817.42 to their churches per year; Muslims, on average, $1,309.23 and Jews, on average, $1,442.91 per year. It appears that Christians have a heart problem when it comes to their treasures!