Where your treasure is

Investing in Eternity: Where Your Treasure Truly Lies

Text: Matthew 6:19-21 Big Idea: Our true treasure reflects our heart's allegiance—choose to invest in what lasts eternally through a relationship with Christ and service to others.

Introduction

A few years ago, a man in California spent 30 years meticulously collecting vintage cars. His garage was filled with pristine Mustangs, Corvettes, and classic Porsches—his pride and joy, worth over a million dollars. He would spend hours each weekend polishing them, checking fluid levels, and showing them to friends. Then came the wildfire. In less than two hours, everything was gone. Thirty years of collecting, a lifetime of careful investment, reduced to ash.

When interviewed afterward, he said something profound: "I lost my cars, but I realized I had been losing myself to my cars for years."

What if I told you that everything you've worked to build—your savings, your reputation, your carefully crafted life—could disappear tomorrow? Most of us would say, "That's ridiculous. I've been responsible. I've planned ahead." But Jesus wants to have a conversation with us about security, about treasure, and about where we're really placing our bets for the future.

In our passage today, Jesus isn't speaking as someone removed from financial realities. He's speaking as someone who understands the human heart and knows exactly what promises true security and what delivers only anxiety.

Read Matthew 6:19-21

Matthew 6:19–21 NKJV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Today we're going to discover why Jesus calls us to completely reframe how we think about treasure, security, and what really matters in life.

1. The Traps of Earthly Treasures (Matthew 6:19)

The False Promise of Earth-Bound Security

Matthew 6:19 NKJV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;

Jesus begins with a prohibition: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth." Notice he doesn't say "do not have possessions" or "live in poverty." He's talking about where we place our ultimate security and identity—what we're "storing up" as our foundation.

In Jesus's day, people literally buried treasure—coins, jewelry, valuable items—in the ground or hid them in houses. There were no banks, no insurance policies, no investment firms. Your security was only as good as your hiding place.

But Jesus identifies three threats that make earthly treasure fundamentally unreliable:

The Threat of Moths

Moths represent gradual decay—the slow, often unnoticed deterioration that eats away at what we value. In ancient times, fine clothing was a major status symbol and store of wealth. But moths would slowly destroy even the most expensive fabrics.

What are the "moths" in our lives today?

Relationships: that slowly deteriorate when built on performance rather than grace

Health that gradually fails despite our best efforts to maintain it

Reputation that can be slowly eroded by gossip or changing social standards

Careers that become obsolete as technology advances

The Threat of Rust

Rust represents internal corruption—when something is eaten away from within. The Greek word here (brosis) can mean any kind of consumption or corrosion.

Consider how earthly treasures can corrode us from the inside:

Wealth that breeds anxiety about losing it, leading to sleepless nights and broken relationships

Success that inflates our ego, separating us from others and from God

Control that makes us brittle and angry when life doesn't go according to our plans

Comfort that makes us soft and unable to handle life's inevitable difficulties

The Threat of Thieves

Thieves represent sudden, catastrophic loss—the unexpected events that can strip away everything we've worked to build.

We live in a world where "thieves" come in many forms:

Economic crashes that wipe out retirement savings overnight

Medical diagnoses that change everything in a single doctor visit

Natural disasters that destroy in hours what took decades to build

Death that separates us from every earthly possession

The Heart Issue Behind Earthly Treasure

Here's what Jesus understands about human psychology: earthly treasures promise security but deliver anxiety instead. The very act of trying to protect them reveals their inadequacy.

Think about it—when was the last time you worried about your heavenly treasure being stolen? When did you last lose sleep over whether God's love for you might depreciate? The things we try to secure on earth require constant vigilance, constant worry, constant protection.

Illustration:

Bernie Madoff ran the largest Ponzi scheme in history, managing over $60 billion in fake investments. For decades, people trusted him with their life savings, their retirement funds, their children's college money. On paper, they were all getting rich. Then in 2008, it all collapsed.

One victim, Elie Wiesel, lost his entire foundation's endowment—money meant to teach about the Holocaust and human dignity. At age 80, Wiesel had to start over. But in interviews afterward, he said something remarkable: "I learned that the only things that truly can't be stolen from you are the relationships you've built, the people you've helped, and the character you've developed."

The man who had survived the Holocaust understood something that Jesus teaches here: earthly security is always an illusion, but there are treasures that transcend even the worst human evil.

Jesus isn't trying to make us miserable by taking away our earthly pleasures. He's trying to free us from the exhausting, futile task of building security on foundations that cannot hold.

2. Treasures That Transcend Time (Matthew 6:20)

The Eternal Investment Portfolio

Matthew 6:20 NKJV

20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Jesus isn't just critiquing earthly treasure—he's offering an alternative. He's saying there's a completely different economy available to us, an investment strategy that yields returns that compound for eternity.

What Are Heavenly Treasures?

Character Forged in God's Image Every time we choose patience over anger, forgiveness over revenge, generosity over greed, we're building character that will last forever. The person you become through walking with Christ—that's treasure that can never be taken from you.

Relationships Transformed by the Gospel Every person whose life is touched by God's love through your words or actions becomes an eternal investment. When you share Christ's love with a coworker, when you serve someone in need, when you disciple a young believer—these relationships echo into eternity.

Resources Invested in Kingdom Work When we use our money, time, and abilities for God's purposes, we're transferring assets from earth's economy to heaven's economy. Every dollar given to advance the Gospel, every hour spent serving others, every talent used for God's glory—these investments yield eternal dividends.

Intimacy with God The deepest treasure we can store in heaven is our relationship with God himself. Time spent in prayer, in his Word, in worship—this intimacy with our Creator is the treasure that defines all other treasures.

The Security of Heavenly Investment

Notice what Jesus says about heavenly treasures—they're secure in ways that earthly treasures can never be:

No moths can eat away at God's love for you

No rust can corrode the righteousness Christ gives you

No thieves can steal your identity as God's beloved child

Historical Example: Consider William Wilberforce, who could have spent his life accumulating political power and personal wealth. Instead, he invested decades fighting to end the slave trade. His earthly political career had mixed success, but his heavenly investment in human dignity and justice continues paying dividends centuries later.

The Compound Interest of Eternity

Here's something remarkable about heavenly treasure—it compounds in ways we can't even imagine. When you invest in someone's spiritual growth, they invest in others. When you give generously to kingdom work, it funds ministry that reaches people you'll never meet. When you develop godly character, it influences your children, who influence their children.

Earthly investments might double or triple over a lifetime if we're lucky. Heavenly investments echo through eternity.

3. Heart's True Home (Matthew 6:21)

The Psychology of Treasure

Matthew 6:21 NKJV

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This is one of the most psychologically astute statements ever made. Jesus isn't saying our treasure follows our heart—he's saying our heart follows our treasure. This flips our usual understanding upside down.

We think: "I love this, therefore I invest in it." Jesus says: "You invest in this, therefore you will love it."

Your Treasure as Your Heart's GPS

Our treasure functions like a GPS for our hearts. Whatever we invest our time, energy, money, and attention in—that's where our hearts will be drawn.

Diagnostic Questions:

What do you think about during quiet moments when your mind is free to wander?

What achievements would make you feel most successful and fulfilled?

What losses would devastate you most deeply?

Where do you turn for comfort when life gets difficult?

What do you worry about losing?

Your answers reveal where your treasure truly lies.

The Heart Audit

Let me suggest three practical areas to examine:

Your Calendar How you spend your time reveals what you treasure. If all your time goes to earning money, maintaining possessions, or building earthly security, that's where your heart is being trained to live.

Your Checkbook How you spend your money is one of the clearest indicators of your values. Jesus talked about money more than almost any other topic because he knew it reveals the heart so clearly.

Your Conversations What do you talk about most? What gets you excited? What topics dominate your conversations with friends? These reveal where your heart is dwelling.

When Hearts Are Misplaced

When our hearts are anchored to earthly treasure, we experience:

Anxiety about losing what we have

Envy toward those who have what we want

Identity crisis when our treasure is threatened

Emptiness even when we get what we thought we wanted

Fear about an uncertain future

But when our hearts are anchored in heavenly treasure, we experience:

Peace that doesn't depend on circumstances

Generosity that flows from abundance, not scarcity

Identity security rooted in God's unchanging love

Purpose that transcends personal gain

Hope that can't be shaken by earthly loss

4. Christ: The Ultimate Treasure

The Treasure That Defines All Others

Here's the beautiful truth that transforms this entire passage: Jesus himself is our ultimate treasure. He's not just teaching us about treasure—he IS the treasure.

Consider the incarnation through the lens of treasure:

God gave up heavenly glory to secure eternal treasure in redeemed humanity

Jesus invested everything—his reputation, his comfort, his very life—for our salvation

The cross demonstrates what God treasures most: a relationship with us

When we understand that we are God's treasure, purchased at the ultimate price, it changes everything about how we view earthly and heavenly treasure.

The Treasure Exchange

Here's the Gospel in terms of treasure: We were bankrupt, storing up treasures that moth and rust destroy. But Jesus, who owned all the treasures of heaven, became poor so that we might become rich. He traded his righteousness for our sin, his life for our death, his heavenly treasure for our earthly poverty.

The Ultimate Investment Story:

Imagine the richest person in the world deciding to give up everything to save someone drowning in debt—not just financial debt, but a debt so crushing it would take eternity to repay. That person sells everything they own, liquidates every asset, gives up their reputation and comfort, even gives their life to pay off the debt completely.

That's what Jesus did. He was rich in heavenly glory, but he became poor so that we might become rich in eternal treasure. He invested everything—his divine privileges, his comfort, his very life—to purchase our freedom and give us access to treasures that can never be taken away.

And now, because of what Christ has done, we have access to treasures that can never be taken from us:

Forgiveness that washes away every failure

Purpose that gives meaning to our existence

Love that will never leave us or forsake us

Hope that extends beyond the grave

Identity as beloved children of God

Application: Practical Steps for Treasure Transfer

1. Conduct a Treasure Audit

This week, honestly assess where your treasure is currently stored:

Track your time for one week. Where do you invest your hours?

Review your spending for the last month. What does it reveal about your values?

Listen to your own conversations. What topics dominate your thoughts and words?

2. Make One Heavenly Investment This Week

Choose one concrete way to store up treasure in heaven:

Serve Someone in need without expecting anything in return

Give generously to kingdom work beyond your normal giving

Invest time in a relationship for eternal purposes—pray with someone, share the Gospel, encourage a believer

Develop godly character by choosing forgiveness over bitterness, patience over anger, or humility over pride in a specific situation

3. Realign Your Security System

Identify one earthly treasure you've been depending on for security and consciously transfer that dependence to God:

If you worry about finances, practice generosity

If you worry about health, invest time in spiritual disciplines

If you worry about relationships, focus on your relationship with God

If you worry about the future, memorize promises about God's faithfulness

4. Create Heavenly Treasure Reminders

Set up automatic giving that prioritizes kingdom work

Schedule regular time for spiritual disciplines

Identify people you want to influence for eternity and begin praying for opportunities

Choose one area of character development to focus on this month

Conclusion

Where Is Your Heart Today?

A Story of Transformed Treasure

Let me close with a true story. Jim Elliot was a brilliant young man who graduated from Wheaton College and could have pursued a lucrative career in America. Instead, he felt called to share the Gospel with an unreached tribe in Ecuador—the Waodani people, known for their violence toward outsiders.

His friends and family thought he was throwing his life away. "You could be successful here," they argued. "You could have a comfortable life, build wealth, maybe even become famous."

But Jim understood something about treasure that his critics didn't. He wrote in his journal: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

At age 28, Jim and four other missionaries were killed by the very people they had come to serve. By earthly standards, it looked like a tragic waste—five young men with so much potential, gone.

But here's the rest of the story: Jim's widow, Elisabeth, returned to the tribe and shared God's love with the people who had killed her husband. Many of them, including some of the actual killers, became believers. The story of their sacrifice inspired thousands of others to become missionaries.

Decades later, those same Waodani believers traveled to the United States to share their testimony. They said, "These men gave up a few years of life on earth so that we could have eternal life in heaven."

Jim Elliot understood where to invest his treasure. He traded what he couldn't keep for what he couldn't lose.

Jesus ends this passage with a statement that's both a promise and a warning: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Your heart is not neutral. It's not waiting around to see what happens. It's actively being trained by your treasure choices. Every investment you make—whether in earthly security or heavenly treasure—is shaping your heart's affections and your soul's destiny.

The Choice Before Us

You have a choice to make. You can continue storing up treasures that moths consume, rust destroys, and thieves steal. You can keep building your security on foundations that shift and crumble. You can keep training your heart to love things that will ultimately disappoint you.

Or you can make the radical choice to invest in eternity. You can begin storing up treasures in heaven where they're eternally secure. You can start training your heart to love what God loves, to treasure what lasts forever.

The Ultimate Security

Here's the amazing truth: when you choose to treasure Christ above all else, you don't lose security—you gain the only security that's real. When you invest in eternity, you don't become poor—you gain access to riches beyond imagination.

The question isn't whether you'll have treasure. The question is where you'll store it.

Prayer: Father, we confess that too often our hearts have been drawn to treasures that disappoint and securities that fail. Help us to see Jesus as our ultimate treasure. Give us the courage to invest in eternity, the wisdom to store up heavenly treasure, and hearts that are captivated by what lasts forever. Transform our desires so that we love what you love and treasure what endures. In Jesus' name, Amen.