7/24/2024
Elijah McSwain, Sr.
Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV — “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The writings of Matthew 6:19-21 is a scriptural passage that is an excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount. Within the context of these verses, Jesus purposefully deliberated to His audience the difference between valuing earthly riches in comparison to eternal treasures. The basis of his dialogue in this section of Matthew was to challenge His listeners on how to have the proper perspective on materialism, valuable possessions, property, and abundance in light of eternity. The overall emphasis is placed on the need for individuals to possess the proper perspective regarding the temporal things of life in comparison to the things of eternity. This declaration by Jesus was given to help shape our outlook and worldview on how we approach life.
Adrian Rogers told a story about a man who loved gold. Then he inherited a fortune. With joy he redecorated his bedroom. He put gold parchment wallpaper up, hung yellow curtains, had a golden colored rug and a yellow bedspread. He even bought some yellow pajamas. But then he got sick and came down with, of all things, yellow jaundice. His wife called the doctor who made a house call and went up to that bedroom for an examination. The doctor stayed up there a long while. When he came down, the wife asked, “How is he?” The doctor replied, “I don’t know, I couldn’t find him.” The essence of this story highlights that people should not become lost in a world of greed and materialism. 1
When people become consumed with greed and wealth they often get lost in the mix and lose themselves. This caliber of a person will devote all of their time, effort and energy to material pursuits in life that they neglect the eternal condition of their soul.
Mark 8:36-37 (NKJV) stress this truth “for what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? “Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Essentially, this is what Jesus stated here in Matthew 6:19-21. As we consider, what are we investing in, it is imperative to first examine the vulnerable nature of earthly treasures.
The Vulnerable Reality of Earthly Treasures
Jesus declared in the opening of verse 19, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy. “Do not” is an imperative command that implies some type of action that needs to be avoided. Please be mindful that Jesus is not saying do not be wise in saving for a rainy day or for future endeavors. For in Proverbs 21:20 (ESV), it is written “precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.”
We are use our resources in a godly and wise manner as God has prospered us. The ability to be a good steward over our finances, tangible goods, and estate is a means of honoring God in our stewardship of exercising wisdom in what He has lend to us. The Lord understands that we need to put back money and other assets for future use.
But here in the gospel according to Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus is saying that we should not spend all of our focus and time placing all of our stock in things of earthly value or temporal pursuits. We are not to be preoccupied with earthly treasures solely focusing on how to invest in this to get rich, how we can reap our return on this investment or that investment, how we can venture in this area to raise our financial portfolio, and how to accumulate the most luxurious things in the world to the point that God is not in our view or in our line of sight at all. In most cases, people are so busy chasing money and earthly treasures but are never able to catch up with it. There is an idiom that says, “when you chase money, it runs.” Chasing money is a different appeal than attracting financial possessions based on some legal product, service, or business function.
Chasing money and material possessions squeezes God out of a person’s life.
The attention of individuals that chase money are so zoned in on the temporal things of life. Therefore, God is not in their thoughts at all. This is a dangerous state of mind to possess. Most people live as though that life is only compromised of the temporal things. It is vital to understand that life is compromised of the physical and the spiritual. To only be drawn to the physical causes a person to neglect the spiritual condition of his or her soul. Grant Richison penned that “the idea behind “laying up” is to store up; it puts emphasis on hording for oneself. If our essential scale of values is based on things of earth, we will miss eternal orientation. Jesus was not making an absolute prohibition against gathering wealth to oneself, but rather teaching that money is to be used for eternity rather than time. This is an issue of personal policy.” 2
Are we using our resources to advance God’s kingdom or help those in need that we can? Or are we storing up our resources to create bigger barns. The gospel of Luke records this exact account of a certain rich man who persisted on building a bigger and better life. Luke 12:15-21 (NKJV) gives that account whereby Jesus said, “take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. “And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ “So, he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” The parable emphasizes that a person who lays up treasures for himself is in spiritual poverty. A person may have a vast amount of wealth and possessions but in actuality be spiritually bankruptcy before God.
Riches can cause people to be dependent upon their resources and live life to the fullest according to the world’s standards but miss out on submitting to the standard of God.
1 Timothy 6:10 (NKJV) describes “for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” The sorrow of the heart knows its own sorrows and bitterness (cf. Proverbs 14:10a). On the other hand, as believers God should be our primary focus as we understand that He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus (cf. Philippians 4:19). Donald Fleming asserted “people who come into the kingdom of God should not view the material things of earthly life as others view them. They should put God’s interests first and be generous in giving to others. Those who set their hearts on material things are being disloyal to God and guarantee bitter disappointment for themselves in the end.” 3
Matthew 6:19 reveals that storing up treasure is a haphazard process because if left unattended, moth and rust will destroy it. To illustrate this, if a dark and damp closet full of clothes is left unattended for a number of years moths will eventually eat holes in those clothes. If a classic car sits in a field and is not moved or cranked constantly, eventually rust will set in on that particular vehicle. Likewise, this is truth for other treasures of great price. Moth and rust will destroy things of great value whether we realize it or not.
The word "destroy" implies that all tangible things of value, will corrode and decompose. Earthly treasures possess a vulnerable nature of being exposed to elements that can cause those things to be ruined and eradicated.
Thomas Constable quote “it is foolish to accumulate great quantities of goods because they are perishable. Moths eat clothing, a major form of wealth in the ancient Near East. “Rust” refers to the destructive force of rats and mildew as well as the corrosion that eats metal.” 4 Therefore, we should not seek to accumulate massive treasure as life’s goal due to its temporary nature, decaying tendencies, and the negative moral implications that it causes.
The Insecurity of Earthly Treasures
Matthew 6:19 implies that confidence in earthly treasures provide a false sense of security. This is an illusion for most people because they hold the belief that earthly treasures provide a sense of security. What many people have accumulated over the years can be stolen by thieves and robbers. Our material possessions and wealth does not provide a sense of freedom from risk, fraud, embezzlement, and misappropriation. Brian Bell spoke of “ancient teachers generally acknowledged the corruptibility of earthly treasure. Because thieves could dig through walls and steal a strongbox in one’s home, well-to-do people usually tried one of several other methods to safeguard their wealth; investing money with moneychangers, depositing it in a temple for safekeeping, or burying it in the ground or in caves. However, moth (for expensive apparel) or rust (for coins) could destroy its value in time.” 5
Every measure that a person takes to secure possessions of value is not safe proof.
None of our earthly treasures are safe. Professional thieves can crack systems to rob us blind. The common thief can break in homes to steal precious jewelry, costly apparel, and other treasured items. Criminals can find a way to take away what other people have worked hard for or inherited through their family bloodline. 1 Timothy 6:17 (NKJV) denotes to “command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.”
Trusting in uncertain riches is a form of misplaced trust as worldly treasures are not as safeguarded as we think.
Material possessions can be here one day and gone the next day. Thus, Jesus’ statement challenges us today not to be preoccupied with riches that can quickly vanish away. Proverbs 23:5 (NKJV) posed the idea, “will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven.” Riches can fly away so to speak through theft as well as our own poor stewardship of financial matters. The emphasis on thieves breaking in to steal treasures where people store them showcases that no matter where we invest our financial resources or hide them, those resources are subject to external forces emptying our stash. Our safe spaces of financial investments are not impenetrable. At any time, our most prized possessions could be confiscated.
What we value the most are things that are transient or temporal. Stock is often placed on these things as if we will obtain them forever. We would hope to possess what we have accumulated for the entirety of our lives but there is a risk of watchful eyes desiring what little we have or the vast amount of what we have. Warren Wiersbe noted in an age of digital finances, stolen identities, and cybercrime, Solomon’s observations in Proverbs about the fragile nature of wealth remain true—painfully so. The accumulation of a lifetime can be gone in an instant. The warning in Proverbs is not intended to scare people from saving or hard work but, rather, to urge people to think carefully about the instability of wealth. 6
Obtaining wealth is not prohibited by God but the tainted view of treasures being untouchable is a falsified reality. Therefore, we should not trust in the uncertainty, instability, and insecurity of wealth. Criminal masterminds are always looking for new ways to take what others have. As a result, it is better to trust in God than in the insecurity of uncertain riches.
God is the greatest treasure that humanity should seek after. For men to labor after riches in an endless manner is vanity. Theodore Beza once wrote pass not the assured treasure of everlasting life to spend life scraping together stale and vain riches. 7 Invest in eternity as it pays eternal dividends.
Resources
Fleming, Donald C. "Commentary on Matthew 6:21". "Fleming's Bridgeway Bible Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bbc/matthew-6.html. 2005.
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentary on Matthew 6:21". "Dr. Constable's Expository Notes". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/matthew-6.html. 2012.
Bell, Brian. “Commentary on Matthew 6”. “Bell’s Commentary”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cbb/matthew-6.html. 2017.
The Wiersbe Study Bible
Beza, Theodore. “Commentary on Matthew 6”. “The 1599 Geneva Study Bible”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/gsb/matthew-6.html. 1599-1645.