v. 21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Q: What does Jesus mean by the word “treasure?”
“We think about our treasures, we are drawn toward our treasures, we fret about our treasures, we measure other things (and other people) by our treasures. This is so painfully true that a person who honestly examines themselves can pretty well discover what their real treasures are, simply by studying their deepest desires.” — D.A. Carson
TEXT: Matthew 6:19-24
“In the first half of Matthew 6 (1-18) Jesus describes the Christian’s private life (giving, praying, fasting); in the second half (19-34) he is concerned with our public business (money, possessions, food, drink, clothing, and ambition.)…God is interested in both areas of our life — private and public.” — John Stott
Jesus teaches us that our treasure reveals our…(1. Heart 2. Vision 3. Ruler)
- Heart (v. 19-21)
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
“What our Lord says here is devastatingly simple…If we would only think seriously about our possessions, we would realize they belong to a passing world, which offers no security. In fact, seeking security in this world and its possessions is a recipe for producing anxieties, rather than relieving them!” — Sinclair Ferguson
- Vision (v. 22-23)
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
“The word translated ‘healthy’ most probably means ‘singleness of purpose; undivided loyalty’ — the good eye is the one fixed on God, unwavering in its gaze, constant in its fixation.” — D.A. Carson
- Ruler (v. 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.”
“In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And an outstanding reason for choosing some sort of God or spiritual-type thing to worship…is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things…then you will never have enough…Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you. On one level, we all know this stuff already…Worship power — you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart — you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. And so on.” — David Foster Wallace
- Where are you building? Earth or Heaven?
- What is your vision for life? Your glory or God’s glory?
- What are you ruled by? Your will or God’s will?