◄ What Does Matthew 6:19 Mean? ►

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

Matthew 6:19(NASB)

Verse of the Day

The Lord Jesus knows: "The human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked," and that an attitude of materialistic, money-orientated consumerism will degenerate into greed, covetousness, double-mindedness, and a divided heart, for we cannot serve mammon and God at the same time. Love of money and love for God cannot co-exist; one or the other will always reign supreme in the heart of man.

But the Lord also knows that materialistic consumerism can quickly enslave both men and women and will divert their attention away from what is eternally valuable to that which is temporal, fading, and passing away.

Money and possessions are not evil in themselves and when rightly used can be of enormous benefit to God and to others. It is not wrong to possess the good things of this world, but it is dangerous when goods and money start to possess our hearts, our choices, and our behaviours.

It is the misguided love of money that is rooted in all sorts of evil attitudes and ungodly actions, and so we are instructed by the Lord Jesus Himself not to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. We are called to lay up for ourselves treasure in heaven; eternal treasures.

Many ministries in Christendom today are encouraging their followers to have their best life now, with little interest in spiritual enrichment or heavenly investments. Prosperity teachers encourage their followers to seek worldly wealth, temporal affluence, and the riches of today's materialistic society, but as believers we are called to recognise the diabolic trap of laying up treasure on earth instead of making heavenly investments: "For where our treasure is, there will our heart be also."

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, how easy it is to fall into the trap of storing up the wrong sort of treasure here on earth instead of seeking to develop a godly attitude toward wealth. Keep me from covetousness and help me to keep my priorities in order toward provision for today and heavenly treasures that are accumulated to Your praise and glory. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.