A Heart and Its Treasure
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Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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Unpacking This Passage
When I was moving back here to Ohio almost two years ago, it took me a few months to find a place to live. I had all my worldly possessions packed in boxes, and I stored them in my parents garage for the Fall, from about September until around Christmas.
By the time I finally moved into my new house, I was so excited to have my things back. My books! My record collection! My clothes! I’d spent the first few months back essentially living out of a suitcase, and I was very grateful to finally be unpacking my things.
I did the math one time, and I’ve lived in 23 or 24 different homes since I moved away to New York City for college. So I’ve become something of a pro when it comes to packing up my things, getting them someplace new, and unpacking them again.
As the pro that I am, once my boxes had all been moved into my new house I went straight to work unpacking. First, I found the essentials: a way to make coffee, a way to play music. Check, check. Now I was ready to get to the unboxing part.
The way the content of my boxes breaks down, it really makes the most sense to start the unpacking process by erecting my bookshelves, which – trust me! – must be put up first if any other boxes are going to be unpacked.
I installed the shelves into one of the bedrooms, and started unpacking boxes. Most of the boxes were packed like this: layer of books or records at the bottom, whatever else on top of those books or records. Every single box I’d moved had at least some books in it.
I would open up a new box, take out wherever I’d packed on top of the boxes, bring those kitchen things or bathroom things, or coats, or shoes, or clothes to their respective rooms, and focus on getting the books out and packed onto the shelves.
As I was doing this, I noticed one of my favorite sweaters had some moth nibbles across the front of it. I was a bit disappointed, but I kept unpacking. Then a few minutes later, another of my favorite sweaters – this time one made of cashmere – likewise had moth holes eaten in it.
Box after box, I found evidence of what seemed to be a moth infestation. Another handful of my “favorite” sweaters. Two of my “favorite” winter overcoats. Another cashmere sweater – this one an expensive cashmere turtleneck I’d just bought a year before. Another of my “favorites!”
The pile of moth-eaten clothes – all sweaters and winter coats – got higher and higher as I kept unpacking. And I don’t just mean 3 or 4 articles of clothing, either. Or 5 or 6. Or even 8 or 10 or 15. This was becoming a big pile of clothes.
You see, a couple of years before moving back to Ohio, when I was still living in my Dark Period of Self Will (DPSW) and chasing wealth, I decided to do a little project for myself. I decided to purchase one of each of the articles of clothing I thought a man should have.
I bought myself two trenchcoats: one tan, one blue. Two wool overcoats: one gray houndstooth, one double-breasted and navy. Two suede, shearling jackets: one an aviation-style bomber, one a longer walking coat. Waxed canvas hunting jackets.
Then I went to work on what I thought were the “essential” sweaters a man should own. Several v-neck cashmere ones, in different colors. A handful of cashmere cardigans, in different colors. A couple of cashmere turtlenecks.
Then, of course, the suits. Two for the fall: one no-wale corduroy, one plaid. Two for the winter: one navy pinstripe, one solid gray. Two for the spring, and two more lightweight cotton for the summer. I even bought two tuxedos: one midnight blue, one black.
I bought all of these items of clothing not because I was especially cold in the winter months, or because I truly “needed” them. For that matter, it wasn’t as though I didn’t have other clothes I was replacing with these new purchases.
Instead, I thought as I was purchasing all these things that I was planning ahead. I thought if I bought some nice versions of all the clothing I could ever “need,” I’d have them going forward. I wouldn’t need to shop again, because I’d have all I wanted.
As I’m packing one after the other of my boxes and these pieces of clothing continue to turn up, one at a time, moth-eaten and destroyed, a recording of the Sermon on the Mount came on my speakers. It was read by the actor David Suchet.
I remember the name of the actor because I saved the recording on my phone after the following happened. I already had a large pile of moth-eaten sweaters of all types and colors, and another pile of coats and jackets in the same state of damage.
Then I unpacked one of my tuxedos. It was the midnight blue one, and it had been moth-eaten the entire way down one of the pant legs. I frantically checked the other leg… Same damage. Ruined. And then this passage from the Sermon on the Mount played.
I remember sighing, loudly. This passage seemed to be speaking directly to me. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy…” I was still irritated by it. I still kind of am, to be honest. But it got me thinking about this passage. A lot.
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Three Verses, Three Teachings
As we unpack this passage from the Sermon on the Mount together, we’re going to continue the work we’ve been doing since around Easter of reading – closely – well-known passages of the Bible.
Today’s passage might not be as well-known as The Good Samaritan or The Prodigal Son, but it’s a widely-read and well-loved passage of arguably Jesus’ most famous teaching, The Sermon on the Mount.
As we have been doing, we’re going to read this passage together very, very closely. How closely? As closely as the biblical text itself merits. Notice that today’s passage is 3 verses long: Matthew Chapter 6, verse 19, 20, and 21.
THERE ARE THREE RELATED BUT ENTIRELY UNIQUE POINTS IN THIS THREE-VERSE PASSAGE. SO THE TEXT ITSELF MERITS SUCH CLOSE READING. THIS IS HOW I ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ THE BIBLE IN GENERAL: CLOSELY, DELIBERATELY.
THE BIBLE ISN’T MEANT TO BE READ QUICKLY. IT IS MEANT FOR THE TYPE OF READING THAT TRULY ALLOWS THE TEXT TO SINK IN. SKIMMING IT WOULD BE LIKE VISITING A MUSEUM BY RUNNING FROM THE ENTRANCE TO THE EXIT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
We read the Bible differently from any other book, and for good reason. Let me make a comparison. Let’s say you pick up a beach book on vacation. It’s a novel that your friend recommended.
When you read this beach book, as when you read ANY book that’s new to you, your mind is doing a lot of things at one time. It’s trying to follow the plot as you read: “oh, what’s going to happen next?” It’s also noticing the writing itself: “I get this character because she says that.”
Crucially, though, your mind is also ASSESSING AND JUDGING what you’re reading as you read it. “Do I think this book is worth my time? Am I going to finish reading it? Will it make sense when I get to the end?”
WE CAN SET SOME OF THIS SUPERFICIAL READING ASIDE WHEN WE READ THE BIBLE. INSTEAD, FLIP THE SCRIPT ON THE WAY WE USUALLY READ. KNOW THAT YOU’LL GET SOMETHING OUT OF EVERY PIECE OF IT. HAVE FAITH. READ, AND CONTEMPLATE.
Especially with the words of Jesus. Whenever Jesus speaks in the Bible, pay close attention. He wasn’t someone who says what He says flippantly. He is very deliberate about the way He speaks. If you’re unsure about that, see what comes from these three verses today.
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1_Don’t Love This World
Verse 19 from Matthew Chapter 6, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” This seems pretty straight ahead: don’t love material things, because they decay. But there’s so much more.
Keep in mind The Sermon on the Mount starts with something called “The Beatitudes,” or “Blessings.” These blessings sum up Jesus' teaching about what it means to live as a child of God's kingdom. Just to give you a reminder, here are a few of these, from Matthew 5:4-7:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
You’ll notice that each of these statements turns something on its head. For example: who are the meek? Meek is defined as “quiet, gentle, submissive.” Sounds like the type of people who don’t stand to inherit much in this world. Yet Jesus says they’ll inherit the ENTIRE world.
Who are those who show mercy? Mercy is defined as “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.” Sounds like the sort of person who gets walked all over in this life. Yet Jesus tells us they’ll be shown mercy.
You see, Jesus introduces this sermon – His greatest single teaching, in my opinion – by letting us know fully, directly what He is about. And what Jesus is teaching us He is about is an upside-down, inside-out version of this world. Remember Opposite Day in grade school?
Jesus teaches us that TO FORGIVE is TO BE FORGIVEN. He teaches us that to GIVE AWAY OUR MONEY charitably is TO GAIN RICHES. He teaches us that to SERVE OTHER PEOPLE is the way to HAPPINESS FOR OURSELVES. And we’re told that to DIE is to gain ETERNAL LIFE.
I love these apparent contradictions, because they are evidence to me of just how far beyond our tiny, human-sized understanding Jesus’ wisdom truly lies. So when I find these apparently contradictory passages reading the Gospels, I perk up. I pay attention more closely.
This is what Jesus is calling us to do with the way He starts the Sermon on the Mount. “Things are not what you expect, so pay attention. I’m going to teach you quite a few things that will seem, at first, the opposite of what you expect. MY WORLD IS NOT LIKE YOURS.”
Nor should our world be like that of Jesus. We live in sin. We live after the fall. We live after the Tree of Knowledge. After the Tree of Knowledge, we have something terrifying: the capacity to delude ourselves into thinking that we, not God, are in charge.
THIS WORLD IS A WORLD IN WHICH WE HUMANS CAN FOOL OURSELVES INTO THINKING WE HAVE BLESSED OURSELVES. THAT WE KNOW WHAT’S BEST. WE LOOK AROUND AND SEE THE WORLD AS WE THINK WE HUMANS HAVE MADE IT, NOT AS A GIFT FROM GOD.
We see our cities and our indoor plumbing and all the plunder we take home from the shops after payday and we look around at our stuff and our lives and we fool ourselves into thinking “LOOK AT ALL THESE BLESSINGS THAT I HAVE CREATED! THAT I HAVE GIVEN MYSELF!”
I HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE AND I’LL SAY IT AGAIN NOW: MY VERSION OF HELL IS A PLACE WHERE I GET WHATEVER I THINK I WANT. IN FACT, THIS IS A WORLD I SPENT A GOOD DEAL OF MY ADULT LIFE LIVING IN DURING MY DPSW, MY DARK PERIOD OF SELF-WILL.
John Wesley, the founder of our Methodist faith, points out the following about this verse in one of his sermons. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… This is a flat, positive command; full and as clear as ‘do not commit adultery.’”
Does Jesus say we should have no material things at all? No. Notice how specific His language is here: DO NOT STORE UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES ON EARTH. Have things. But don’t have more than you need. DO NOT STORE UP. DO NOT HOARD. INSTEAD, GIVE.
WHY NOT STORE UP? BECAUSE MOTHS EAT. BECAUSE IF WE STORE, WE END UP WASTING. THINK OF ALL THE MONEY I SPENT ON MY CLOTHING. I COULD HAVE GIVEN THAT MONEY AWAY, INSTEAD OF FEEDING MOTHS WITH IT.
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2_Serve the Poor and Needy
Verse 20 from Matthew Chapter 6, “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Just as direct and positive of a directive as when Jesus teaches us to not store up comes this second directive: store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. And just like the previous verse, this second verse from today’s passage seems pretty straightforward.
It seems this second verse from today’s passage simply reiterates the previous verse. Jesus seems to be teaching us “store up your treasures in Heaven, because then your treasures will be safe. Moths won’t come and eat them. Like Pete’s tuxedo.”
But, again, there is more to this second verse that it seems on the surface. If this verse read “KEEP YOUR TREASURES SAFE, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal,” then it might be simply a continuation of the first point.
But that’s not what it says. This verse isn’t about keeping our treasures safe. Here, Jesus is teaching us – in a very direct manner – to “store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven.” WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES, “WHAT ARE TREASURES IN HEAVEN?”
We find the answer in the Gospel of Luke. In Luke Chapter 12, Jesus is teaching a crowd when a man asks Him to comment on how this man’s father’s estate should be divided. Jesus responds with a parable – classic Jesus! – and then says this in Luke 12:15:
“Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Jesus continues with another parable (The Parable of the Rich Fool), then teaches this in Luke 12:33-34:
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
“A treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” Sounds familiar, right? “SELL YOUR POSSESSIONS AND GIVE TO THE POOR,” JESUS TEACHES, “AND YOU WILL HAVE A TREASURE IN HEAVEN THAT WILL NEVER FAIL.”
You might be thinking right now, “this is a nice, close reading, Preacher Pete. But Jesus doesn’t really mean that, does He?” It would be my responsibility, were you to say this to me, to point you back toward Matthew, Chapter 25:42-45:
42 “‘I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’”
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“WHATEVER YOU DID NOT DO FOR ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE, YOU DID NOT DO FOR ME.” MATTHEW 25:45. SERVING THOSE IN NEED IS SERVING JESUS HIMSELF. NOT SERVING THOSE IN NEED IS REJECTING JESUS HIMSELF.
JESUS TEACHES US TIME AND AGAIN THAT TO SERVE OTHERS HERE IN THIS WORLD IS TO SERVE GOD HIMSELF. THIS IS HOW WE “STORE UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES IN HEAVEN.” NOT BY KEEPING OUR MATERIAL POSSESSIONS SAFE. BY GIVING THEM AWAY.
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3_The Heart Goes with Its Treasure
Verse 21 from Matthew Chapter 6, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The third teaching from these three verses in the Sermon on the Mount is by far the most subtle, and yet also the most profound. THIS VERSE ALL HINGES ON THE WORD “FOR.”
“Why not store up for yourselves treasures upon earth?” “Because there the moth and vermin and the thief come.” “Aha, so we would lose those treasures!” “Yes; by the moth, and the vermin, and the thief. Just like Pete’s coats, and sweaters, and his tuxedo.”
“Does the Lord then mean that the reason for not laying up such treasures is their transitory and corruptible nature?” “Not entirely. He adds the word “for:” ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’”
WHAT IS STORED UP WITH THE TREASURE MUST ALSO FARE AS THE TREASURE ITSELF. IN OTHER WORDS, THE HEART THAT HAUNTS THE SAME TREASURE-HOUSE AS THE MOTH WILL ALSO BECOME MOTH-EATEN, AND PERISH.
“FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE ALSO.” WHAT THIS SAYS IS ALMOST BEYOND WORDS IN ITS IMPORTANCE. IF YOUR HEART IS WITH WORLDLY THINGS AND NOT IN HEAVEN, THEN YOU YOURSELF WILL ROT AWAY WITH THE WORLD.
AND MAKE NO MISTAKE: THIS DOES NOT ONLY APPLY TO WORLDLY POSSESSIONS, LIKE MY MOTH-EATEN CLOTHING. IT APPLIES TO ALL THE TREASURES WE STORE UP OF THIS EARTH. THE OPINIONS OF OTHERS. SOCIAL STANDING. EARTHLY POWER.
IF THESE THINGS HOLD OUR HEART, IF WE CARE ABOUT THEM MORE THAN GOD, THEN OUR SOULS ARE ROTTING HERE AND NOW, IN THIS VERY ROOM. MOTHS ARE EATING AWAY AT OUR HEARTS. OUR VERY SELVES WILL NOT ENDURE. WE WILL PERISH.
George MacDonald, one my all-time favorite preachers, says it this way in one of his sermons: “Nor does the lesson apply to those only who worship [money]… it applies to those equally who in any way worship the transitory.
Those who seek the praise of men more than the praise of God; who would make a show in the world by wealth, by taste, by intellect, by power, by art, by genius of any kind, and so would gather golden opinions to be treasured in a storehouse of earth.”
IF, ON THE OTHER HAND, WE HAVE WORLDLY POSSESSIONS BUT WE ALWAYS PUT THEM BENEATH GOD, IF WE GIVE AWAY WHAT EXTRA WE HAVE TO THOSE IN NEED, IF WE TREAT THOSE WITH LESS AS WE WOULD TREAT JESUS HIMSELF, OUR HEART IS SAFE.
Matthew 25:40, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Those who serve others are the righteous. They will inherit the kingdom. They will find eternal life in salvation.
Those who keep to themselves, on the other hand, are the accursed. They will inherit “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” THE DIFFERENCE IS SERVICE. FEEDING THE HUNGRY. WELCOMING STRANGERS. CARING FOR THE SICK.
SERVICE WILL STORE UP FOR US TREASURES IN HEAVEN. IF INSTEAD OF GIVING, WE HOARD WHAT WE HAVE, IF WE KEEP MORE TO OURSELVES THAN WE NEED, OUR VERY SOULS WILL ROT AWAY, LIKE BOXES OF FANCY CLOTHES LEFT TO THE MOTHS.
If, as we are told in Matthew 25, being of service to those in need is the same as serving Jesus Himself, then we are likewise promised to encounter Jesus in such service. In return for service, we find God’s Grace. That, brothers and sisters, is a treasure like no other.
