Where My Treasure Is Stored

In heaven is where my treasure is stored. Those should be the words we desire to utter from our mouths, especially when our earthly pilgrimage comes to an end. For these are the treasures that we can take with us. These are the treasures that last. These are the treasures that truly satisfy the desires of men’s hearts. As you read this Gospel passage, consider where your treasures are stored.

Where My Treasure Is Stored

Gospel - Matthew 6:19-23

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,

where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.

But store up treasures in heaven,

where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

“The lamp of the body is the eye.

If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;

but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.

And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”

Scriptural Analysis

The pursuit of wealth and possessions is not a model for one’s life. Although many see security in storing up treasures, Jesus reminds his disciples that these are perishable and can be lost. He provides three vivid examples. First, a moth can eat your treasures (cloth). Second, decay can eliminate your treasures (precious metals rust). Third, a thief may break in and steal your treasures. Instead, the disciples need to focus their energies on storing up treasures in heaven. These are treasures that are produced through righteous living: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. These are the treasures that build a solid foundation and last forever.

As has been seen before with Jesus, his critique of material wealth has far more to do with motivation than it does with wealth itself. He tells his disciples, “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” In essence, he is asking them where their heart is. The person who is so preoccupied with material wealth, with earthly treasures, is unable to serve the Father because he is occupied with worldly concerns. If you focus on storing up treasures in heaven, that is where your heart will be: focused on the Father.

Jesus then presents a small parable to his disciples, describing two kinds of eyes. In the Old Testament, the eye is an expression of the soul, “and he has slain all the pride of our eyes.” (Lamentations 2:4) This parable points to the two ways that a person may view the riches of the world. The evil eye looks upon the possessions of the world with envy and covetousness and is unsatisfied with what it has. Contrast this with the sound eye, which is generous in its view of the world. Jesus says that the eye is the lamp of the body, expressing the state of the heart. The generous eye, the person with a good heart, illuminates the world. The evil eye, the person with a covetous heart, leaves the world in darkness.

Daily Application

This passage can often be misinterpreted to mean that material wealth in and of itself is inherently bad. That is not what our Lord is saying. It is OK to have some degree of material comfort. What our Lord cautions, however, is for us to examine where our heart is. Do we desire material wealth and prosperity so much that the pursuit of these has taken over our lives? Do we desire comfort so much that we store up our treasures beyond what is needed for our survival and fail to give to those in need? Do we neglect our family, our friends, or even God in the pursuit of treasure?

Jesus is warning us in this passage to get our priorities straight. Our number one priority should be our sanctity, our holiness. We should focus on storing up treasures in heaven so that when our earthly pilgrimage is complete, we can spend eternity with our Lord. That should be far more important to us than building earthly wealth. Sadly, material wealth can often become a hindrance to this. It can cause us to misalign our priorities. That is why our Lord says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:25)

Of course, this does not mean that we neglect our early responsibilities. We still need to eat and to provide for those under our care. As a result of original sin, our Lord tells us, “In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” (Genesis 3:17) We will have to labor to support our families. Christ himself worked for the vast majority of his life. Work is good and can sanctify us if we engage in it for the right reasons. When work becomes a means by which we serve God by fulfilling our duties, then our priorities are in order. Our heart is in the right spot, and we can be confident that heaven is where our treasure is stored.