“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV)

1. What are some examples of earthly treasures?

2. What are some examples of heavenly treasures?

“Have money, but never let it have you” is a phrase I have heard often through the years. As an adult, I understand the warning. The pursuit of money and possessions is a trap. It promises to give, but actually takes everything to gain it and then holds the person who chases it. This is what is conveyed in Paul’s words to young pastor Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NKJV), “But those who desire to be rich shall fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some having strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”As His people, we chase what is better. We look not for temporal (earthly) rewards. We intentionally lay down that pursuit and seek His eternal reward.

3. Is money evil? Is it wrong to have a savings account?

With this in view, Jesus says in verse 19, “do not lay up” “treasures” here. “Lay up” comes from the Greek verb “thesaurizo” and means “to gather or to store up for safe keeping.”

The definition of this word reveals the absurdity of the task! It is laughable. Even the most careful and meticulous “storing up” does not ensure safekeeping! We cannot really keep any “thing” long-term. Every “thing” has a clock. The mountains of electronic trash in other parts of the world are full of what was, at one time, the must-have new gadget. Peter reminds us that “all these things will be dissolved” (2 Peter 3:11, NKJV). Our world is filled with the remnants of things that were once desired and are now discarded. It all dissolves.

4. Can you think of something that you felt you had to have that disappointed?

In the same way, alarms, locks, cameras, chains, covers, and safes, are all designed to protect what we have from being taken. We spend nearly as much to protect what we have as the thing itself. Though the Pharaohs of Egypt were all buried with their treasure, not one carried it beyond the tomb. Most were simply robbed after the fact! It is these two truths about “things” that Jesus warns about when He says, “Moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.” “Destroy” comes from the Greek word “aphanízō” and means “to corrupt, spoil, or take away.” The lesson here is that earthly goods can be easily lost and have to be continually protected!

In contrast to this, Jesus tells us that there are reliable investments in life. They are investments that are sure and cannot lose value (look at your 401k!) and will not be taken from us! He says, “but” which means “instead.” We are to “lay upfor yourselves treasures in heaven.” How is this possible? How do we store up and gather treasures for Heaven? The answer is found in everything we have already looked at. When we do what we do for His reward instead of the reward of men, we are storing up eternal rewards. When we serve or give, seeking only His approval and to be seen by Him rather than others, we are investing in something that is sure. He assures us that “neither moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.”  Again, Peter reminds us of these better investments when he writes that we have “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, [as is] reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4, NKJV). The contrast between these “treasures” could not be stronger. One we cannot hold onto as it continually slips through our hands. The other can never be taken from us!

5. Incorruptible, undefiled, and does not fade away sounds great. What is the worst warranty experience you have had?

In verse 21, Jesus peels back the veneer of desire and asks the question that is behind it, “What do you want?” Verse 21 forces us to examine what we really want for both time and eternity. Jesus masterfully probes, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” His words make us look inside, to ask, “What exactly is my treasure?” His words are simple to understand. The “treasure” is what I see as valuable. The “heart” expresses my affection and attention. If my treasure is my money, my mind is on it all the time. If my treasure is my car, I will park it as far away from others as possible! If my treasure is my position, my importance, or my influence, my focus will center around those things. If however, my treasure is my family, my effort and attention will prove this. If my treasure is my King, my Savior, and Lord, my life will demonstrate that. It is all too easy to see what people “treasure” because their “heart” (affections, attention, and words) follow it. For some it is a sports team, for others, it is the stock market, and someone else it might be a hobby. People talk about what they are into. As in young love, we gush over what we are in love with. If He is my treasure, my life, affections, and attention will confirm it!

6. Is it wrong to have nice things or to take care of them? What is the balance?

Matthew 6:22-23 continues, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

From the heart, we turn now to the eyes. Jesus warns that we must be careful with what we take into the “body”through the “eyes.” While this short section applies to many areas of life, Jesus is still talking about loving money. This is seen in verse 24, “You cannot serve [both] God and mammon.” “Serve” comes from the Greek verb “douleúō” and means “to serve and carry out the will of another.”

“Mammon” was the (false) “god” of riches and wealth. So again, while this section has application to many areas of life, Jesus is still talking about the way that riches can capture both our attention (eyes) and affections (heart)!

7. How does marketing attack our eyes?

He gives us a picture and says, “The lamp of the body is the eye.” In that day, a “lamp” was a small clay vessel that held oil, had a small wick, and a handle for carrying. Its primary (and obvious) purpose was to help a person see in darkness. Its glow-in-the-dark revealed where to go and what to avoid. Jesus says that our eyes are like these “lamps,”but rather than shining out, they shine into our bodies. Therefore, He says, “If therefore your eye is good,” which seems to mean that our light is shining and unhindered by sin and evil. It means that what is being taken in by the eyes is good and right. He says, if “your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.” In simple terms, this means that what we take in affects us. If we take in the good, we are affected in a good way. Light is shone through the body. However, the warning in verse 23 is that the opposite is also true. The words “but if your eye is bad” means that sin is affecting the light. Sin and evil being taken in through the eye are snuffing out the light or covering it in some way. The result, Jesus says, is that our “whole body will be full of darkness.” It is a warning that means we are always affected by what is taken in through our eyes. To not have light is to walk in darkness. To walk in darkness is to not know where to go or what to do. It means that we will not know what to avoid and will eventually trip and fall. Jesus puts an exclamation point on this by saying, “If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” This means that if the only thing being taken in is wickedness, the result is tremendous spiritual blindness and severe consequences in life.

8. How should this affect what we watch on our TV, cable, computer, and phone?

While this can and does refer to anything we might take into our body through our eyes, both good and bad, it primarily refers to the “treasure” that He has already spoken of. If riches and wealth are our “treasure,” it captures both our attention (eyes) and our affections (heart). However, if the Lord is our “treasure” and if His reward is what we seek, then He has both our attention (eyes) and affection (heart). Verse 24 makes it clear that a choice must be made because “no one can serve two masters.”

9. How are some ways we can give God our attention (eyes) and our affections (heart)?

Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

When you stop to consider the words “no one can serve two masters” you realize immediately that this is obviously true. “Serve” comes from the Greek verb “douleúō” and means “to serve and carry out the will of another”

10. Have you ever had two bosses? How did it go?

I once worked at a company where I had two bosses who hated each other! Their hatred of each other created something of a chess match where each was trying to outdo the other or catch the other in some error. Unfortunately, we common employees were just pawns in their game. When one of them heard the direction given by the other, they would overrule that and give an order that was directly opposite. It was maddening! It is this scenario that Jesus describes with the words “no one can serve two masters.” The word “serve” also carries the idea of “belonging to or being subject to another” and it reveals a truth that any unsaved person does not want to hear. We are all owned by someone. We are not our own. We never have been! The idea that we are our “own man” is patently false and a lie designed to keep us in a false sense of independence from God. The truth is, we did not make ourselves and therefore we ultimately belong to the One who made us. However, the Bible says that through sin we can enslave ourselves to a new master and this is what has happened! Mankind through sin enslaved himself to the god of this world, the devil, to do his evil bidding. It is only through repentance (turning from sin) and turning to God that we become slaves of a new Master. It is giving ourselves to Him (Romans 6:16).

Satan is a cruel master. Jesus said (John 10:10, NKJV)) that “the thief” only wants “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” In contrast, Jesus as our Master is loving, gentle, and kind. In the same passage, Jesus contrasted Himself with “the thief” and said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The New Testament makes it clear that there are only two “masters” and we are all owned by one or the other. As Christians, we are happily owned by the One we call Master and Lord, our King Jesus. The unsaved person is also owned, often unaware, by the god of this world who hates them and laugh’s at their demise. Jesus’ words make it clear that we cannot have two masters. It is one or the other. We cannot serve two masters. It is one way or the other.

11. Do you think most unsaved people would understand that we all have a master?

He says, “For either he will hate the one and love the other.” “Hate” comes from the Greek verb “miseo” and means “to detest.” “Love” comes from the Greek verb “agapao” and means “to love dearly, tenderly.”

Both words express deep emotion towards whichever master we have. It is painful to know that people “hate” (detest) my Master, the King, and Victor over all, the Lord Jesus whom I “love.” However, I understand it, for I “hate”(despise, detest) their master, “that serpent of old” (Revelation 12:9, NKJV) who has forever lost and is the devil whom they “love.” Jesus said a person will be “loyal to the one and despise the other.” “Loyal” comes from the Greek word “antechomai” and means “to hold firmly to.” “Despise” comes from the Greek word “kataphroneo” and means “to look down on with contempt!”

We come back to the words “you cannot serve God and mammon” and again make the point that either God is Master and “calls the shots” or money does. There is no in-between.