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“Let us look at what the Word of God says.”
> “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
> — Matthew 6:21
And in the very next verses Jesus continues:
> “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
> But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
> — Matthew 6:22–23
These words are not suggestions. They are spiritual laws. Jesus is not offering an opinion; He is describing how the human heart and the inner life actually function.
The theme that emerges is simple but searching:
The lyrics you have before you simply echo this spiritual diagnosis:
> “For where your treasure is,
> there your heart will be also.
> Store up treasures in heaven—
> your heart will follow there.”
We are confronted with two central issues:
1. Treasure – What we consider most valuable.
2. Vision – What we consistently look at, think about, and pursue.
These two together will determine the course of your life, your spiritual health, and even the reality of your eternity.
These verses come from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), the greatest recorded discourse of Jesus. He is speaking to His disciples, with the crowds listening in, on a hillside in Galilee.
The central question of the Sermon on the Mount is:
What does it mean to live under the rule of God – the kingdom of heaven – here and now?
Matthew 6, in particular, addresses three areas where human motives are tested:
1. Religious acts – giving, praying, fasting (Matthew 6:1–18)
2. Relationship to material things – treasures, money, anxiety (Matthew 6:19–34)
3. Relationship to others – judging, forgiving (Matthew 7:1–12)
Our passage (Matthew 6:19–23) stands at the heart of Jesus’ teaching on riches and priorities:
> “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
> But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
> For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
> — Matthew 6:19–21
Jesus is addressing a people under Roman occupation, with economic pressures, political uncertainty, and religious tension. Much like today. The temptations were the same: to look for security in possessions, status, or human systems instead of in God’s kingdom.
Then Jesus immediately moves from treasure to vision:
> “The eye is the lamp of the body…” (vv. 22–23)
Why? Because what you look at is what you start to desire.
What you desire is what you begin to treasure.
What you treasure is what captures your heart.
So the sequence is:
Gaze → Desire → Treasure → Heart-direction → Destiny
Jesus is not simply correcting their outward behavior. He is exposing the inner mechanism by which human lives are either drawn into the light of God or sink into darkness.
To understand this passage more deeply, we will look at two key words from the Greek text.
### 1. “Treasure” – *thēsauros* (θησαυρός)
The Greek word translated “treasure” is *thēsauros*.
From this word we get the English “thesaurus” – a storehouse of words.
*Thēsauros* means:
So Jesus is speaking not only of “things” but of stored value – what you accumulate, protect, and invest your life into.
This includes:
“Treasure” is anything you regard as worth sacrificing for – your time, your energy, your money, your emotions.
When the song says:
> “Store up treasures in heaven—
> your heart will follow there.”
It is describing a spiritual principle: the location of your *thēsauros* determines the direction of your heart.
### 2. “Healthy / Unhealthy” Eyes – *haplous* (ἁπλοῦς) and *ponēros* (πονηρός)
In Matthew 6:22–23:
> “If your eyes are healthy (haplous)…
> if your eyes are unhealthy (ponēros)…”
The word translated “healthy” is *haplous*, which literally means:
It is the opposite of double-mindedness, mixture, or hypocrisy.
The word for “unhealthy” is *ponēros*, which is normally translated “evil.” It means:
So Jesus is not merely speaking about medical eyesight, but about moral and spiritual focus:
Therefore:
This is why the lyric says:
> “Keep your heart fixed on heaven—
> let your eyes be clear and single.”
“Clear and single” is essentially a paraphrase of *haplous* – an undivided focus on God and His kingdom.
We will now walk through the main themes in the lyrics and anchor them in Scripture.
### A. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
This is a universal law of the spiritual life. It does not say “ought to be,” but “will be.”
Your heart is not static. It follows your treasure.
If you invest most in:
Proverbs 4:23 confirms:
> “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
But Jesus reveals *how* the heart is guided: by the location of your treasure.
What you habitually store up is what will habitually rule your inner life.
This is why Colossians 3:1–2 commands:
> “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Heart and mind together must be oriented toward heaven. You cannot set your treasure on earth and your heart in heaven. The heart will always follow the treasure.
### B. “Store up treasures in heaven—your heart will follow there.”
Jesus gives a direct alternative to earthly accumulation:
> “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…”
> — Matthew 6:20
We need to ask a precise question:
How do we store up treasures in heaven?
Scripture gives several clear answers:
1. By generous giving and right use of money
Luke 12:33:
> “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never
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