My wife and I have had some interesting discussions around Matthew 6:19. It says that we should not store our treasures on earth. Is it saying that we shouldn’t save for a rainy day? Or we shouldn’t even prepare for retirement or any type of financial planning? Where is the best place to store our treasures?
Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.”
— Matthew 6:19 NLT
I know what the consensus is: we save and plan and save some more. Is the Lord instructing us to do it that way, or is our society dictating what we should be doing?
I am by no means saying we shouldn’t prepare for the future. In our preparations, we must be a good steward of what God has provided us with. Good stewardship means that we will trust the Lord more than we trust our resources.
Actually, the context of this verse isn’t talking about saving for a rainy day. Neither is it talking about putting money away for something like retirement. It is talking about what we treasure.
The Passion Bible translation says Matthew 6:19 this way:
Don’t keep hoarding for yourselves earthly treasures that can be stolen by thieves.”
The word hoarding is the appropriate word to use in this context.
Jesus Tells Us Where To Store Our Treasures
Jesus goes on to say in verse 20 (NLT):
Store your treasures in heaven.”
Then He gives a very good reason why. He says it’s much safer in heaven.
“Moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.”
There is also a much deeper and spiritual reason behind this teaching from Jesus. He says in verse 21,
Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (NLT).
The first thing we must treasure is our relationship with the Lord. In verse 33, Jesus makes a profound statement which is one of the most quoted verses of the Bible.
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (NLT).
In other words, live by faith and within the means of what God has provided for you. When we live by faith, the message of verse 34 will be the theme verse for your life.
So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (NLT).
I want to share with you a story about a woman who my wife and I came to love and admire, amazed by how she lived by faith. We called her Mom Woodling. After her husband deserted her, she was left to raise four young children alone.When we met her, her children were all adults and she was well past retirement age. She cleaned the church to supplement her Social Security income. Finally, the day came when she had to give that job up.
Knowing she needed the income, one of the church members made a proposal in a church business meeting. He made a motion for the church to continue to pay her salary until she went to heaven. I happily heard about the proposal and how the congregation agreed to it.
Mom Woodling was a woman of strong faith. Her journey wasn’t easy, but it was rewarding. In my opinion, she was someone who was storing up her treasure in heaven and not on earth.
Examples like her are surely dying off. Not many of those types of examples are replacing them. It’s amazing how much we can trust the Lord, even when we don’t think we can. Especially when we are put in the position where we have to totally depend on Him.
Lord, thank you for giving us examples of people with strong faith like Mom Woodling. Bring influencers into our lives who can illustrate to us how to store treasures in heaven.
Written by Robin McKinley
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on ramckinley
Featured Image by Sabrinna Ringquist on Unsplash
