“Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 5:20, 21
Are you someone who stores things? Or are you a pitcher? Are you more likely to save or dispose? I admit that I am a saver. Just this morning I found myself thinking of saving a piece of cardboard because, well, it was a good piece of cardboard. You never know when I might need a piece just like that for some project or another. Better sense won out and the cardboard is now in the recycle bin. But I did have those thoughts. I’m not sure that God cares if we save a piece of cardboard, or if we can’t throw away a plastic bag. But He does care about our hearts. So where is your heart? According to this verse, it’s wherever your treasure is.
I’m sure we’ve all heard sermons on how materialistic our culture is. Wealth is very important in our culture. Don’t believe me? Think about this. It’s considered rude to talk about money. For example, we all know that we should never ask someone how much they make. Why? We can ask them almost anything else about their job but the subject of salary is taboo. I was always told it was so there wouldn’t be any hard feelings from someone who doesn’t make as much. Why would they have hard feelings? Because how much we make is a symbol of our value. If I get a raise but the person who sits next to me doesn’t, it must mean I’m better or more important. I realize there is also the issue of fairness, but even fairness includes a sense of our own value. To put it succinctly, our culture uses money to determine the value of an individual.
That doesn’t make money an evil thing. There’s a misconception in our culture that the Bible says that money is the root of all evil. Actually, it says the love of money. Money isn’t the problem. Our hearts are. That’s why Jesus is telling us in these verses to not spend all our time and energy striving after money for the sake of having more money. Rather, we should be working for the Kingdom, investing our lives in things that will last for eternity. And sometimes that means money. There are those who have the spiritual gift of generosity. They tend to have a talent for making money but they also give money to further God’s kingdom and spread His love.
So which are you? Where is your heart? According to the Bible we can answer that question but looking at what we treasure. If we hold onto our money and our possessions for our own gain or out of fear of the future, that means our heart is in the things of this earth. But if we’re willing to give away our time, talent and treasure for God’s purposes, our hearts are with Him. And He will bless us in ways we can’t even imagine, both here on earth and in heaven.