Where’s Your Heart? Is it focused on the temporary things of this earth or is it focused on the eternal things of God? As a part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says this in Matthew 6:19-21, “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.”
What we treasure is what we value. Often people acquire more of what they value. Those same people usually talk the most about what they value. They do what they can to gain more of what they value. In Matthew 6:19 Jesus calls for those who are treasuring up, cherishing, storing, or holding dear those things that are ephemeral to redirect their hearts. This is because the things of this world are temporary. In the end, those things that haven’t already been consumed by pests or subject to the Second Law of Thermodynamics will be “burned up.” Recall 2 Peter 3:10, where we’re told that “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
Rather than focus our heart on transient things, Jesus tells us to focus our heart, desires, goals, ambitions, and priorities on the things of heaven. In other words, the treasure that we are to value are those things that are eternal, of God, of His Spirit, and His Son.
This is not to say that the things of this earth that are temporary cannot be enjoyed. God gave us the knowledge, skills, and ability to create and build. God has blessed us with the ability to enjoy the blessings of those things. The thing Jesus tells us that we’re not to forget is which one is most important. In Matthew 6:21 He concludes, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The question of where are heart is, is not meant to be restricted to where we are Sunday mornings or the things we read, study and memorize. Where are heart is shown is in the way we live. Like I mentioned earlier, what we treasure is what we value. Often people acquire more of what they value. Those same people usually talk the most about what they value. They do what they can to gain more of what they value. In other words, do we go out of our way to acquire more things of God – whether knowledge of the Scriptures or fellowship with other believers? Do we talk more about the things of God – how God is at work in our lives and in the lives of others, especially those things pertaining to what Jesus has done, doing, and will do in saving us and others? Those can be good indicators of where are heart is.
The treasures of our heart can also be seen in how we care like Jesus, love like Jesus, give like Jesus, forgive like Jesus, and be compassionate like Jesus; in other words how well we live and love like Jesus. By living and loving like Jesus, we show where our heart is.
