Matthew 6:19-21

Matthew 6:19-21
Notice the progression of Jesus’ sermon so far. He has spoken of the inward character of a kingdom citizen, the proper attitudes toward the law of God, the proper approach to worship, and now in this text, a citizen’s relationship to material possessions. It is fascinating to see that in the Lord’s kingdom we are given direction in every area of our lives. Being a citizen in God’s kingdom goes far beyond the religious aspect of one’s life.Notice that Jesus gives both a negative and positive command: do not lay up…but lay up. The “not/but” conjunction implies that Jesus is not condemning any kind of savings account, He is talking about one’s priorities; where one’s treasure is. Proverbs 6:6-11 and 1 Timothy 5:8 both tell us of the important of making provision for the future when the day would come in which we can no longer work. Therefore, Jesus’ words give the sense of, “Do not put your efforts and concerns primarily in laying up treasure on earth, but instead put your primary effort in laying treasure in heaven. The challenge is a great one. Do we put more work into collecting an earthly treasure or in storing up a heavenly treasure? The earthly treasure will come to nothing; the heavenly cannot be taken away or destroyed.

God has placed within us a desire to possess. We can either fulfill that desire with earthly possessions or heavenly. The problem with the earthly is that neither the possessions nor us will endure. All earthly possessions are temporary with temporary promises. Man’s problem is that he believes the illusion that earthly goods will give him inward fulfillment or satisfy the longing for ultimate happiness. But you and I cannot name one possession we have that has accomplished that goal. Satan keeps telling us that if we will purchase a little more, we will attain the prize. But it is not to be. Only heavenly treasure will satisfy that deep longing of our souls.
Berry Kercheville