Is Your Treasure Secure?

Matthew 6:19-21

November 3, 2002

 

From the time that we are but infants we have the tendency to hold tightly to that which we most value. Just watch a toddler at this point. He may find a piece of paper or a plastic dish or a dirty old hat to catch his fancy. Just attempt to pry it loose from his grip, and you will meet with loud bellows and anguished cries. We laugh at the value the little fellow places on something that holds no value to us. But the problem is that maturity of years does not change this same attitude of the heart. It only moves to different treasures - all of which must be weighed in light of eternity.

 

The kingdom of God extends beyond what we can see and record on our calendars. Kingdom life stretches beyond this life into eternity. For this reason Jesus Christ demands that kingdom citizens not resemble the world in the attitudes of the heart. And unlike the world, kingdom citizens are to measure every motive and ambition in light of eternity. 

 

But we struggle at this juncture. We have been delivered from "the domain of darkness, and transferred ... to the kingdom of [God's] beloved Son" (Col 1:13), but we still live in this world. We have been placed in the world as salt and light but our whole way of thinking must be renewed so that the world does not squeeze us into its value system (Rom 12:1-2). Don Carson points out that our Lord's exhortation calls for an action that was in progress to come to a screeching halt. Rather than storing up our treasures on earth we are to store them in heaven [The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Matthew 1-12, 177]. "Worldly ambition has a strong fascination for us," warns John Stott. "The spell of materialism is hard to break" [The Sermon on the Mount, 154]. And so we must recognize that kingdom citizenship calls for a radical shift in our values. We cannot treasure what the world treasures and still look like a kingdom citizen. 

 

Jesus moves from addressing hypocrisy in religious practices to the values we hold in life. Kingdom citizens are certainly not to be like the citizens of this world in good deeds, giving, praying, and fasting. But just as importantly, kingdom citizens must not be bound by the values of the world. It is at this very point that our testimony of the gospel proves to be genuine or hypocritical. That which we value most mirrors the affections of our heart. Where is your treasure today? Consider with me how our treasures are to reflect the values of God's kingdom.

 

I. Treasures express what we deem most valuable.

 

What do you treasure? That is a valid question to ask Christians. We know that pollsters have shown that the moral practices of professing Christians and unbelievers are virtually the same. Carelessness in our morals has diminished our influence upon the world about us. But so has our attention to our treasures. It is therefore vital that we understand what Jesus had to say about what kingdom citizens are to find valuable.

 

1. Implication about treasures

 

The text is quite simple. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." Every person listening to this sermon understood what Jesus meant by treasures. It was certainly not that his first audience had much of this world's goods. Many of them were so impoverished that they barely had the clothes on their backs and wondered where their next meal might be found. Poverty was endemic to the first century. Yet Jesus spoke of treasures to his audience because everyone has his own treasures - even the poor. Treasures consist more in the affections of the heart than in what one can hold in his hands. Our Lord was excluding no one from the matter of treasures.

 

We must clarify that Jesus was not banning possessions for kingdom citizens. Scripture never condemns having things but only loving things above the interests of the King. Nor is he forbidding Christians to save and store up resources for future needs. The Bible commends this practice by using the example of the ant wisely working to gather food for the future. Neglecting providing for one's family is tantamount to infidelity according to Paul (I Tim 5:8). Furthermore, "We are not to despise, but rather to enjoy, the good things which our Creator has given us richly to enjoy," [Stott 155]. 

 

2. Nature of treasures

 

But what does he mean by treasures? "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth." The text literally states, "Do not treasure up treasures for yourselves on the earth." We get our English term, "thesaurus," from the Greek word for "treasures." A thesaurus is a treasure chest of words and phrases. Here the treasure chest is in our hearts - it is that which we hold dear in our hearts. A treasure is that upon which you place your affections and attention. It is that which you value above other things. It may be money but it is not limited to money. It may be possessions of every stripe but it is not limited to our possessions. It could be your reputation or your honor or the praise that you receive from others. Treasures can be held in the hand or simply stored in the mind. Stott calls it "the materialism which tethers our hearts to the earth" [155]. Lloyd-Jones calls it "our attitude toward our possessions." He adds, "It is not what a man may have, but what he thinks of his wealth, what his attitude is towards it" [The Sermon on the Mount, 81]. Calvin explains that treasure is "where men reckon they have their highest good, there they are tied and there they are fixed" [Calvin's New Testament Commentaries, I, 216]. Alexander Maclaren explains treasures as "whatever each man thinks best, that which he most eagerly strives to attain, that which he most dreads to lose, that which, if he has, he thinks he will be blessed, that which, if he has it not, he knows he is discontented" [Expositions of Holy Scripture, VI, 303].

 

So when we think of "treasures" we must not limit it to what we have in the stock market or in a bank account or hidden in a safe. King Saul's greatest treasure was what others thought about him. He wanted to be honored before men more than having the approval of God. So his whole attitude and behavior was "tethered" to his honor and reputation; and in the end he lost all of it. Achan valued a Babylonian garment and a little silver and gold above the commands of God, so he took what was banned in the conquering of Jericho. But it proved to be perilous for the whole nation of Israel. Because Achan treasured "things" more than obedience to the Lord he ended up losing all. 

 

What do you deem most valuable? Is it some prized possession, perhaps a painting on a wall or an expensive outfit or a vehicle or a prestigious degree or a lucrative position? Or maybe it is a particular circle of friends or desire for attention or longing for recognition for your accomplishments? You can recognize your treasures by that which you think is most important to you, that which you believe you cannot do without, that which brings you the greatest pleasure and satisfaction, and that which you think most about. You might give up other things, but with your treasure you will not part.

 

II. Treasures exist temporally and eternally.

 

Treasures are not necessarily evil in themselves. It is the improper value that we place on the treasures that cause them to be illegitimate for the kingdom citizen. It is that which so ties us to the world that is bent on rebellion to God, and loosens our hands from the plow of obedience that gives treasures wrong values.

 

1. Types of treasures

 

Jesus centered his words upon areas that his audience found most valuable. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." Garments were so valuable in the first century that some were passed down as part of family inheritance. The wealthy would indicate their importance by having their garments stitched with golden thread. But Jesus reminds them that a single "moth" could ruin a valued garment. 

 

"Rust" literally means, "eating."  It conveys the idea of decaying or corroding or consuming a product. The word was often used of stored grain being ruined by decay or eaten by vermin. It could also refer to some metal object held as a treasure being destroyed by rust. A couple of the groups that have gone to France on a mission trip hiked in the early morning up a mountain to an ancient Roman community known as Nages. Ruins are scattered over many acres as you near the top of the mountain. You can imagine a community once thrived with homes and businesses - the pride of these Roman citizens, but now they are left in ruin. But in comic relief, someone drove a car to the top and left it (obviously not the Romans!). There, nestled among the Roman ruins, is a rusted and corroded car - a parable of both the ancient and modern world's treasures eventually coming to ruin. If rust or vermin or time can affect it, then the treasure is temporal and earthbound.

 

Then Jesus speaks of valuable stones and gems being hidden in a house only to have "thieves break in and steal." The hardened clay of ancient houses made for easy entry by thieves with sharp digging tools. All they had to do was chisel a hole in the side of the house, and make their getaway with the family's valuables. Some would hide their valuables in the center of the house away from exterior walls to insulate their possessions from breaking and entering. But they lived in fear that what they held most dear would be taken from them. 

 

What are your "treasures"? Kent Hughes points out, "If anything in this world is everything to you, it is an earthly treasure" [The Sermon on the Mount, 207]. Have you thought about this lately? Maybe you have the best CD or movie collection among your friends. Has that become a treasure that has tethered you to the world? Maybe it is your athletic or musical abilities that have taken over your heart's most valuable list. Or perhaps it is your looks or your hair or your physique or your voice or your personality that you treasure more than anything else. If moth or rust can destroy it, if thieves can steal it, if the passing of years can diminish it, if a change of circumstances can wreck it then it is a treasure that you are storing upon the earth - and Jesus assures you that it will not last. Kingdom citizens must learn to treasure up lasting treasures.

 

2. Destiny of treasures

 

Notice that Jesus explains only two destinies for our treasures: "on earth" and "in heaven." The first implies loss. It is temporal and will not have place or value in eternity. Does it mean that it is wrong for kingdom citizens to own or possess things in this world? That is the interpretation embraced by monks in several traditions, so that they abandoned ownership of anything for the solitude of their monasteries. But Jesus is not condemning possessions or ownership or even enjoying what God has provided you in life. What he does is to help us exercise clear reasoning upon our possessions. It is okay to have a house and clothes and a vehicle and even money in the bank - just as long as those things do not become the focus of your life. How important will those things be 100 million years from now? If we use eternity as a measuring stick to help us gauge the value of what we possess, it will enable us to have a clearer perspective on where possessions, positions, and perceptions fit into our lives. We spend endless hours worrying over possessions when in the grand scheme of things those possessions will not be with us in eternity. Our treasures may cost more than the sock or rock that a child thinks is valuable but in light of eternity they are just as valueless. 

 

On the other hand, there are some treasures that we can store up for ourselves "in heaven." These are the things that the world does not value. Job rightly declared, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there" (1:21). In terms of the things or possessions of the world that Job lost, that is exactly right. Yet Jesus tells us that we are to store up treasures in heaven. There are those things that have lasting value that Christ transfers from earth to heaven on our behalf. Such treasures can be secured eternally.

 

III. Treasures can be secured eternally.

 

We tend to find our security in the wrong places. Sinclair Ferguson made an interesting observation. "The more we gather possessions in order to feel secure, the more we feel we need them in order to be secure and then the more we need to guard them to maintain our security. Therefore, the less secure we are!" [The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World 137]. But what our Lord commands us is to focus our attention upon the right kind of treasures so that they will be secured for all eternity. "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal."

 

1. Right kind of treasures

 

How does one define "treasures in heaven"? The opposite, "treasures on earth," point to the transitory or that which is centered on the earthly or that which finds its value only in relationship to the world. "Treasures in heaven" point to those things that have a lasting value, that transcends the grave and remain forever. Paul gives a clear explanation of the right kind of treasures in I Timothy 6:17-19.

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.


It is clear that Paul is not condemning the rich for being rich, but rather his concern is when a person has much of this world's goods fixing his hope or his fondest affections or his love upon riches. His point is that whatever we have God has graciously provided it to "enjoy" in relationship to Him. Instead, the rich person is to find greater riches in good deeds of generosity, service, meeting other's needs, and sharing what he has to alleviate suffering. So it is the attitude toward one's riches that determine whether it is an earthly or a heavenly treasure.

 

John Stott gives some helpful examples. Our Lord's command to store up treasures in heaven includes many things.

The development of Christlike character (since all we can take with us to heaven is ourselves); the increase of faith, hope and charity, all of which (Paul said) 'abide'; growth in the knowledge of Christ whom one day we shall see face to face; the active endeavour (by prayer and witness) to introduce others to Christ, so that they too may inherit eternal life; and the use of our money for Christian causes, which is the only investment whose dividends are everlasting [156].


Stott adds, "All these are temporal activities with eternal consequences." I think that this is a very important point. What Christ calls upon us to do is not something outside the realm of possibility but rather we store up treasures in heaven in the day-to-day faithfulness that we exercise in relationship to Christ. It involves our disciplines, relationships, the use of our financial resources, the use of our energies and time, the exercise of our spiritual gifts, and acts of service toward others. Even if we give a cup of cold water in the name of Christ we give that unto Christ. It is not merely a nice act on earth; it is an act weighted with eternal consequences. 

 

2. Right sort of location

 

National boundaries or the ticking of a clock or pages of a calendar does not border our lives as kingdom citizens. "Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven" gives us broader dimensions to the way we live and the way we use our time and in the things that we value. "Treasures in heaven" last forever because it is a place "where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal." Earth is affected by sin and the effects of the fall, so moths and rust do their destructive deeds, eating away at what people hold to be valuable, and thieves ply their sinful deeds in stealing whatever they purpose to take. The work of moths and rust give evidence of the degeneration affecting all creation that began in the fall of man. Thieves display the propensity of the human heart for greedy and selfish purposes - all evidence of sin. But "treasures in heaven" cannot be affected by any act of sin or consequence of the fall. The eternal outshines the temporal any day! As Don Carson expressed so well, "It is a poor bargain which exchanges the eternal for the temporal, regardless of how much tinsel is used to make the temporal more attractive" [The Sermon on the Mount, 77]. 

 

3. Right kind of purpose

 

To "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven" implies that we seek to live with a different worldview than our counterparts in the world. We live with eternity in view. We live with the knowledge that one-day we still stand before the Lord to give an account for our lives, and even for every idle word. It means that we avoid investing our time and lives in those things that center entirely on the world. Obviously we still have to dust the furniture, mop the floors, and take out the garbage, but even in those things we are to do our work "heartily, as for the Lord" (Col 3:23). We are to view the jobs that we hold or the school work that we are doing as opportunities to trust the Lord, and to do what we do to the glory of God. In this way even the mundane takes on eternal value since it is offered to the Lord in service and worship.

 

I believe that this is one of the most critical issues that Christians need to grasp. It sets kingdom citizens apart from the citizens of this world. We live by the unfolding of God's providential governing of our lives. He has placed us where we need to be, having provided jobs, relationships, schools, and thousands of other issues that we daily face. But how do we approach the mundane issues of life - the "daily grind" as we often term it? Do we seek to do all that He has placed before us as acts of service and stewardship unto the Lord? Let us send "treasures" on ahead to heaven that will stand forever as part of our inheritance; for our Lord tells us to store up "for yourselves" these treasures in heaven. 

 

IV. Treasures mirror the affections of the heart.

 

The clinching reason that Jesus declares for storing up treasures in heaven is this: "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." If we value our relationship to Christ and eternity in heaven above all earthly joys, then we will live with an eye fixed on eternity. Paul applied this thought to the Colossians. "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col 3:1-3).

 

1. Masks of the heart

 

So often we can mask what is really taking place in our hearts by acts of service, doing good deeds, saying spiritual words, etc. The "heart," as Jesus uses the term, implies "the seat of all powers of the soul, both intellect, sensibilities, and will" [John Broadus, Selected Works of John A. Broadus, III, 145]. The heart is used "for the whole inner man, the core of our total being, the wellspring of all we do" [Hughes 209]. So when Jesus speaks of "where your treasure is" he means that the whole of our being is wrapped up in our treasures. So we can try to mask our hearts but eventually the truth about what we treasure most will remove the mask. It happened to the rich young ruler, and to Paul's missionary companion Demas. The reason is that treasures act like a mirror to reveal the heart. We will see the truth about ourselves in the things we treasure, and so will everyone else, and so does the Lord.

 

2. Mirror found in treasures

 

So what does the mirror of your treasures say about your heart? What are the things that consume your thoughts, and maybe even your energies and finances and affections? "The things we treasure actually govern our lives," wrote Carson. "What we value tugs at our minds and emotions; it consumes our time with planning, day-dreaming, and effort to achieve" [77]. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Are these things weighted with eternal value? Even good things can become evil if we value them as the ultimate treasures of our lives in place of eternal treasures. John Calvin put it like this, "It is as if He said, it would a strange thing, and less than worthy of them, if their souls should sink to the level of earth, when their treasure is in heaven" [216].

 

Conclusion

 

This is a heart-searching text, and one that we cannot absorb in the short time we have together. But it is one that we must not shrug off because the sermon has ended. We must hold our treasures up to the measuring stick of eternity. What do they look like when viewed in this light? Let us repent of idols of the heart that have crept into our treasures, and let us be steadfast in treasuring those things that will be waiting upon us in heaven.

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