May 16

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” —MATTHEW 6:21

Everyone is laying up treasure in some way. It may not be expressed in our assets or bank accounts, but there is something which gives us reason to get up in the morning. Whatever controls our hearts is our treasure, and it’s either earthly or heavenly. The reality is we straddle both spheres and no matter how heavenly our interests may be, we live on earth and are subject to its demands and values.

The reason why this is such an important issue is shown in the progression of thought Jesus gives in Matthew 6, verses 19 to 24. Verse 19 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” Verse 21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Verse 22 & 23, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” And verse 24, “No one can serve two masters.Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”

The thrust of these statements is that our visions, the goals which motivate us, are either good and bring light or bad and bring darkness. What begins as our treasure, whether earthly or heavenly, is something which serves us and furthers our interests. In the pursuit of it, our treasure becomes our vision, and in time, what began as our treasure and grew into our vision becomes our master. To ask what is our treasure; what is our vision; and what is our master is essentially asking the same question.

The free will we are given is actually limited to one thing….who is our master? From there on, everything we do is a logical explanation of what is the mastering principle of our lives. It’s either temporal or it’s eternal, self-centered or God-centered, earthly or heavenly, but it cannot be both. 

Society today holds to the belief that a person’s status and success is directly related to reputation and material wealth, but society has it backwards. We cannot put the pursuit of money, prestige and power before the pursuit of God. Jesus says we cannot serve both God and money (6:24). Mixing of the material and spiritual as common objectives simply will not work. We either serve God or ourselves, and the issue is not how much we have, but what our responsibilities are in light of what we do have. Though we live in the temporal, a mature Christian has the eternal at heart.

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for all the material blessings you’ve given me, and keep me mindful to live everyday with eternity in mind.

TO REFLECT UPON: Is my vision focused on the material or spiritual world?