What do you Treasure
What Has Your Heart?
This week, as our building fills with the colors, lights, and energy of VBS, I’m reminded that following Jesus is meant to involve our whole lives—not just our Sunday mornings, not just our songs, and not just the parts of us we already feel comfortable surrendering.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presses into one of the most practical and sensitive areas of our lives: our relationship with money, possessions, and security.
He says:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…”
— Matthew 6:19–20
Most of us don’t wake up thinking, How can I become more greedy today? We don’t usually set out to become materialistic. Often, we’re just trying to be responsible. We want to provide for our families. We want stability. We want food in the pantry, money in the bank, and some sense that tomorrow will be okay.
Those are not bad desires. Scripture does not condemn wisdom, provision, or stewardship. But Jesus knows how easily responsibility can become trust, and how quickly trust can become worship.
What begins in our hands can move into our hearts. And before we realize it, the gifts God has given us can become rivals to God himself.
Earthly Treasure Cannot Carry the Weight of Your Life
Jesus uses vivid images: moth, rust, and thieves.
In other words, everything we try to cling to in this world is vulnerable. It can decay. It can disappear. It can be stolen. It can lose its value. It can become obsolete. It can end up collecting dust in a drawer, closet, shed, or storage room.
Earthly treasure is not necessarily evil, but it is temporary. It was never meant to hold the full weight of our hope, identity, security, or peace.
That’s why Jesus calls us to store up treasure in heaven.
This doesn’t mean we buy our way into heaven. It means we organize our lives around what matters in the kingdom of God: Christlike character, mercy, generosity, forgiveness, prayer, love of neighbor, care for the poor, obedience to Jesus, and devotion to the Father.
It means we live now in light of eternity.
Where Your Treasure Is, Your Heart Will Follow
Jesus says:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
— Matthew 6:21
That sentence is worth sitting with.
We often assume our treasure follows our heart. But Jesus says our heart follows our treasure. Where we invest our time, money, attention, energy, and affection, our hearts begin to attach.
This is one reason generosity matters so much. Giving is not merely a financial act; it is heart formation. It teaches our hearts to say, “This is not my god. This is not my master. This is not my ultimate security. Everything I have belongs to the Father.”
Generosity helps us hold God’s gifts with open hands.
Greed Is a Vision Problem
Jesus continues:
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.”
— Matthew 6:22–23
In the language of Scripture, a “good” or “clear” eye is connected with generosity, while a “bad” or “evil” eye is connected with greed and stinginess.
Greed is not just a wallet problem. It is a vision problem.
Greed causes us to see giving as loss, people as competitors, and possessions as identity. But a generous eye sees giving as worship, people as neighbors, and possessions as tools entrusted to us for the work of God’s kingdom.
The danger is that greed rarely feels like darkness. We often disguise it with respectable language: wisdom, caution, responsibility, planning. And to be clear, wisdom and responsibility are good things. But Jesus lovingly asks us to examine what is underneath.
Am I being wise, or am I afraid God will not provide?
Am I being responsible, or am I trying to stay in control?
Am I being careful, or am I refusing to trust my Father?
Jesus does not ask these questions to shame us. He asks them to heal our sight.
You Cannot Serve Two Masters
Finally, Jesus says:
“No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and wealth.”
— Matthew 6:24
He does not say it is difficult to serve two masters. He says it is impossible.
Money is useful. It can feed our families, support ministry, care for the poor, bless our neighbors, and meet real needs. But money does not always stay in our hands. It can move into our hearts and begin making promises only God can keep.
Wealth says, “Just a little more, and you’ll be safe.”
But “a little more” never arrives. It keeps moving ahead of us like a carrot on a stick.
Jesus loves us too much to let money master us. He is not against us having possessions; he is against our possessions having us.
The question is not simply, “What do I have?”
The deeper question is, “What has me?”
Living With Open Hands
I shared the story of Lillian Trasher, a missionary who went to Egypt in 1910. She left behind the life she had planned because she believed God was calling her to the mission field. Shortly after arriving, she encountered a starving baby whose mother was dying. That moment became the beginning of an orphanage that would care for thousands of children and women over the next 50 years.
She did not begin with great resources, a perfect plan, or financial security. She began with obedience, open hands, and trust in the Father.
God may not be calling each of us to start an orphanage in Egypt. But he is calling each of us to the same kind of surrendered trust.
Will we organize our lives around what we can keep, or around the kingdom that cannot be lost?
When money is no longer our master, it becomes a servant. Possessions become tools. Our lives become freer. Our hands begin to open.
A Question for This Week
This week, I want to invite you to pray a simple but honest prayer:
Father, what has my heart?
Maybe it’s money. Maybe it’s fear of not having enough. Maybe it’s comparison, comfort, success, security, or control.
Whatever it is, Jesus is kind enough to reveal it and powerful enough to free us from it.
May we become people who treasure what lasts, see with generous eyes, and serve the Father with undivided hearts.
This week, as our building fills with the colors, lights, and energy of VBS, I’m reminded that following Jesus is meant to involve our whole lives—not just our Sunday mornings, not just our songs, and not just the parts of us we already feel comfortable surrendering.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presses into one of the most practical and sensitive areas of our lives: our relationship with money, possessions, and security.
He says:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…”
— Matthew 6:19–20
Most of us don’t wake up thinking, How can I become more greedy today? We don’t usually set out to become materialistic. Often, we’re just trying to be responsible. We want to provide for our families. We want stability. We want food in the pantry, money in the bank, and some sense that tomorrow will be okay.
Those are not bad desires. Scripture does not condemn wisdom, provision, or stewardship. But Jesus knows how easily responsibility can become trust, and how quickly trust can become worship.
What begins in our hands can move into our hearts. And before we realize it, the gifts God has given us can become rivals to God himself.
Earthly Treasure Cannot Carry the Weight of Your Life
Jesus uses vivid images: moth, rust, and thieves.
In other words, everything we try to cling to in this world is vulnerable. It can decay. It can disappear. It can be stolen. It can lose its value. It can become obsolete. It can end up collecting dust in a drawer, closet, shed, or storage room.
Earthly treasure is not necessarily evil, but it is temporary. It was never meant to hold the full weight of our hope, identity, security, or peace.
That’s why Jesus calls us to store up treasure in heaven.
This doesn’t mean we buy our way into heaven. It means we organize our lives around what matters in the kingdom of God: Christlike character, mercy, generosity, forgiveness, prayer, love of neighbor, care for the poor, obedience to Jesus, and devotion to the Father.
It means we live now in light of eternity.
Where Your Treasure Is, Your Heart Will Follow
Jesus says:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
— Matthew 6:21
That sentence is worth sitting with.
We often assume our treasure follows our heart. But Jesus says our heart follows our treasure. Where we invest our time, money, attention, energy, and affection, our hearts begin to attach.
This is one reason generosity matters so much. Giving is not merely a financial act; it is heart formation. It teaches our hearts to say, “This is not my god. This is not my master. This is not my ultimate security. Everything I have belongs to the Father.”
Generosity helps us hold God’s gifts with open hands.
Greed Is a Vision Problem
Jesus continues:
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.”
— Matthew 6:22–23
In the language of Scripture, a “good” or “clear” eye is connected with generosity, while a “bad” or “evil” eye is connected with greed and stinginess.
Greed is not just a wallet problem. It is a vision problem.
Greed causes us to see giving as loss, people as competitors, and possessions as identity. But a generous eye sees giving as worship, people as neighbors, and possessions as tools entrusted to us for the work of God’s kingdom.
The danger is that greed rarely feels like darkness. We often disguise it with respectable language: wisdom, caution, responsibility, planning. And to be clear, wisdom and responsibility are good things. But Jesus lovingly asks us to examine what is underneath.
Am I being wise, or am I afraid God will not provide?
Am I being responsible, or am I trying to stay in control?
Am I being careful, or am I refusing to trust my Father?
Jesus does not ask these questions to shame us. He asks them to heal our sight.
You Cannot Serve Two Masters
Finally, Jesus says:
“No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and wealth.”
— Matthew 6:24
He does not say it is difficult to serve two masters. He says it is impossible.
Money is useful. It can feed our families, support ministry, care for the poor, bless our neighbors, and meet real needs. But money does not always stay in our hands. It can move into our hearts and begin making promises only God can keep.
Wealth says, “Just a little more, and you’ll be safe.”
But “a little more” never arrives. It keeps moving ahead of us like a carrot on a stick.
Jesus loves us too much to let money master us. He is not against us having possessions; he is against our possessions having us.
The question is not simply, “What do I have?”
The deeper question is, “What has me?”
Living With Open Hands
I shared the story of Lillian Trasher, a missionary who went to Egypt in 1910. She left behind the life she had planned because she believed God was calling her to the mission field. Shortly after arriving, she encountered a starving baby whose mother was dying. That moment became the beginning of an orphanage that would care for thousands of children and women over the next 50 years.
She did not begin with great resources, a perfect plan, or financial security. She began with obedience, open hands, and trust in the Father.
God may not be calling each of us to start an orphanage in Egypt. But he is calling each of us to the same kind of surrendered trust.
Will we organize our lives around what we can keep, or around the kingdom that cannot be lost?
When money is no longer our master, it becomes a servant. Possessions become tools. Our lives become freer. Our hands begin to open.
A Question for This Week
This week, I want to invite you to pray a simple but honest prayer:
Father, what has my heart?
Maybe it’s money. Maybe it’s fear of not having enough. Maybe it’s comparison, comfort, success, security, or control.
Whatever it is, Jesus is kind enough to reveal it and powerful enough to free us from it.
May we become people who treasure what lasts, see with generous eyes, and serve the Father with undivided hearts.
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