Last week, we talked about what we wrap our hopes around. This week, we turn our attention to another foundational question:
What are the wisest investments we can make for the future?
Not just financial—but spiritual, relational, and eternal investments.
Let’s read Matthew 6:19–24
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Matthew chapters 5-7 is what’s referred to as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is addressing different groups of people: His own disciples, those considering His words, and the religious Pharisees and Sadducees who were always looking to find fault with His teaching. Throughout this sermon, Jesus is revealing the truth about God, His Kingdom, His priorities, values, and ethics.
Jesus corrects distorted ideas about:
? What it means to be truly blessed
? What true righteousness looks like
? How to think about your enemies
? The purpose of prayer and fasting
In Matthew 6:19–24, Jesus gives us heaven’s perspective on treasure—because what we treasure reveals the direction, health, and allegiance of our hearts. Where we invest our time, money, and mental energy, reveals what’s most important to us and in this passage, Jesus is pointing to:
? Two Treasures - competing for your heart
? Two Visions - that Shape your life
? Two Masters - that demand your loyalty
Let’s look at the:
1. Two Treasures What are the two treasures?
Jesus begins with an imperative:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…”
Stop treasuring the treasure you have on earth (speaks of an obsession with/of hoarding it to use for yourself to the neglect of others). We all have the tendency to look to material possessions to do the things that only God can really do. What do you think that may be? Give us a sense of worth, safety, comfort, joy?
But the treasures we have here are temporary, fragile, and unstable. Moth, decay, loss, and even theft are inevitable. In fact, you may have read about the very professional bank robbers who stole at least 30 million Euros from security boxes in a bank vault in Germany this past week. Some people have lost their life savings and the bank insurance cant even cover the losses. Even the best investments on earth will eventually fail us because we can’t take them with us into the next life. Also, in reality, we are only stewards of what we have, not owners.
On the other hand, what Jesus referred to as heavenly treasure is:
? Eternal
? Secure
? Untouched by decay
? Guaranteed to pay eternal dividends by God Himself
Heavenly treasure includes everything that believers can take with them beyond the grave, the testimony of their lives, faithfulness to God, people who have come to Christ, and disciples nurtured in the faith.
Jesus is not condemning people who are rich, have possessions or wealth, who make sound financial investments — He is confronting our priorities.
In verse 21, He tells us why this matters:
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt 6:21).
Wherever my heart is / is where my treasure is/ because my heart has an inseparable attachment to my investment. Though the context here is in regards to materialism, it can easily be attached to other things like beauty, intellect, reputation, skills, dreams, work, ministry, people. At the Friday night prayer meeting, we were discussing how we as Christians say that God is first, then family, church, and work. However, often our calendar, our thoughts, our decisions tell a different story. (I am talking about myself.) Where your heart is will determine your true priorities - where and why you invest in what you treasure.
First, the Scripture is clear that we should value our relationship with God first and foremost and prioritize that relationship. When we honor God’s Word in our lives, and are filled with His life, we will take care of our total being, we will invest in our spouse, family, His church, our neighbors, our community. We honor God when we use our resources to provide for and care for people’s needs as He tells us to do in Proverbs 3:9:
Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce; Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine (Prov 3:9).
We are to view our resources as a tool for evangelism (bringing people into God’s Kingdom), for discipleship, and as opportunities to serve and bless others. We are investing in the eternal because material wealth is of no use beyond this life on earth (Ps 39:6; 49:16–19; Eccles 2:20–26; Luke 12:16–21). One person said it this way, “The only things we will take with us to heaven are souls.” Investing in God’s kingdom brings eternal dividends. Jesus told His disciples:
And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings (Luke 16:9).
If our priorities are to store up treasure in heaven, investments that will have an eternal impact. There are two treasure and Jesus also says you can see those treasures in two different ways.
2. Two Visions Verses 22-23 say:
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. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! (Matt 6:22-23).
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Your eyes are the window of your soul.” It means that our eyes reveal what we treasure.
If your eye is healthy, single, undivided, focused, and generous it means your whole body is filled with light (or life).
What does this mean? It means our eye reveal the condition of our heart. If our eye is full of light, it means we have a healthy, objective perspective on life. The Greek brings out that the generous eye looks for opportunities to do good, to minister, to serve, to bring life to others. If our eyes are full of light then we have a different outlook on life - work is not just what we do to pay the bills, loving and serving others is not just a burden to fulfill. These things God has put in our lives are opportunities to pour out the overflow of God’s life in us.
This is why it’s so important to hear and read God’s Word and to let the Holy Spirit bring light into our situations. The Word of God is like a camera lens, it adjusts the way we see things, helps us to focus so we can clearly see that which is truly valuable and important and not have a distorted, deceived view of unimportant, and unprofitable affairs in this life.
Jesus contrasts a healthy vision with those whose eyes are evil - unhealthy, void of life, empty, dark (spiritually blind, morally confused, & deceived). Darkness speaks of a sphere in which light/objectivity is absent)...These are the ones whose worldview is informed by the world. They believe life merely consists in the abundance of material wealth (Luke 12:15). They are short-sighted, can’t see beyond their situation, beyond themselves. They are consumers not givers - stingy and greedy.
Jesus said, “If that light is darkness - then how great is that darkness!” He is saying that if you think that things will give you life and meet your needs then you have been greatly deceived.
Did God give us things in life to enjoy? Yes! But Jesus is telling us not to set our hearts on these things but rather on the One who gave us these good things. The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to Timothy:
Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment (1 Tim 6:17).
This brings us to the last section in this passage:
3. Two Masters Jesus said:
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth (Matt 6:24).
Serve here means, “willingly give over the prerogative to be self-governing to another person.”
Master is defined as “supreme in authority, controller - owner.”
Wealth is mammon in the Greek. It speaks about all our material wealth personified - it’s almost like we look at wealth like a person we have a relationship with. Wealth makes claims that rival those of God. So we devote ourselves to it, we place our trust in it like it will care for us. We give it power and authority over us.
Everyone serves something or someone. The question is not if you serve a master, but which one.
When wealth is our master, subtle shifts take place:
? God becomes a tool - we consult Him when finances fail, health collapses, or plans fall apart. (break glass in case of..)
? Faith becomes conditional—we trust God as long as obedience does not threaten our comfort.
? Obedience becomes negotiable—we obey when it aligns with our goals and delay when it costs too much.
Mammon promises security, but it never says “enough.” It demands more attention, more loyalty, more sacrifice, but it cannot promise life. It quietly trains us to believe that ultimate safety and security come from savings, not from the sovereign hand of God.
But when God is our Master:
? Wealth becomes a servant, not a savior
? Resources become tools for stewardship, not measures of worth
? Success is measured by faithfulness, not accumulation
? Generosity becomes an act of worship and thankfulness
? We devote ourselves to God, trust in Him – He will take care of us – He will direct us -
Jesus lovingly asks the question every disciple must answer:
Who truly governs your life?
Who has the final word over your decisions, your priorities, and your future? Where is your treasure?
I pray that God would give each of us a generous eye, full of light and life so that we will make wise investments that will last for eternity.
