Remember the thrill of collecting something as a kid? Maybe it was baseball cards, action figures, or stamps. We’d carefully organize our collections, convinced that what we were hoarding would someday be incredibly valuable. Fast forward a few decades, and most of those “treasures” are gathering dust in attics or have been donated to someone else’s kids.
There’s something profoundly human about our tendency to accumulate, to hold tight to things we believe have value. We work hard to obtain possessions, stress over maintaining them, and sometimes even go into debt to acquire them. Yet given enough time, everything we own eventually fades, breaks, or becomes obsolete.
This reality brings us face-to-face with an uncomfortable question: What are we really treasuring in this life?
The Mirror of Our Priorities
If you want to know what truly matters to you, look at two things: your calendar and your checkbook. Where we spend our time and where we spend our money reveals what we genuinely value, regardless of what we might say our priorities are.
In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus addresses this human tendency head-on: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
This isn’t a condemnation of ownership or an instruction to live in poverty. Jesus isn’t saying we shouldn’t have savings accounts, enjoy material comforts, or plan for the future. Rather, he’s confronting something deeper: our possessiveness. He’s challenging the impulse within each of us to hoard, to cling, to place our ultimate security in the temporary things of this world.
The Temporary Nature of Everything
Jesus emphasizes the fleeting nature of earthly possessions in two ways. First, “where moth and rust consume”—everything decays over time. We’ve all experienced this. The new phone that was supposed to change our lives now barely holds a charge. The brand-new car eventually becomes the beater we’re afraid to drive too far from home.
In our highly consumerist society, this truth has become even more pronounced. “They don’t make it like they used to” has become a common refrain because so much of what’s produced today is designed for obsolescence rather than longevity.
Second, Jesus mentions “where thieves break in and steal.” Even if our possessions don’t break down, there’s no guarantee they’ll remain ours. As the saying goes, “You never see a U-Haul at a funeral.” Everything we accumulate stays behind when we leave this world.
When we focus on temporary things, our lives begin to reflect that temporariness. We live in anxiety, afraid of losing what we have. We fall into comparison, always measuring what we own against what others possess. We operate from scarcity, convinced that no matter how much we accumulate, it will never be enough.
How Generosity Transforms Our Focus
Generosity isn’t just about giving something away—it’s about fundamentally changing our focus from what we own for ourselves to what we can offer others. It reorients our gaze from the things of earth toward God’s purposes and values.
When we’re generous with our time, we notice people instead of obsessing over our schedules. When we’re generous with our talents, we see opportunities to serve rather than excuses to step away. When we’re generous with our resources, we recognize the needs of others instead of fixating on our own wants.
This shift from temporary to eternal, from self to others, represents the first profound transformation that generosity brings to our lives.
Storing Up Treasures in Heaven
Jesus offers a contrasting vision: “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
But what exactly are these “treasures in heaven”? Jesus doesn’t provide a checklist, but his original audience would have understood. In Jewish teaching, heavenly treasures weren’t literal possessions to accumulate. They were the results of acts of charity and righteousness—the values that shape how we live and interact with others.
These are the things that reflect kingdom values and therefore cannot rust, rot, or be stolen. They’re the things that make us more like Christ.
When we live generously, we begin to value things differently. Instead of accumulating possessions, we value acts of charity. Instead of pursuing comfort through material things, we develop compassion for others, even at the expense of our own comfort. Instead of chasing status, we value service. Instead of career achievements, we prioritize spiritual growth.
We shift from a “what can I get” mindset to a “what can I give” orientation.
This transformation challenges us to examine the gaps between what we say we value and what our lives actually demonstrate. Do we truly value community if our schedules rarely make time to invest in others? Do we really value compassion if we close our eyes to the needs around us? Do we genuinely trust God if we’re constantly anxious about the future?
The Heart Follows the Treasure
Jesus concludes with the key insight: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Our hearts follow our treasure. What we invest in—our time, attention, and resources—shapes who we become on the inside. If we treasure achievement, our hearts become defined by accomplishments. If we treasure possessions, our hearts get wrapped up in what we own. If we treasure status, our hearts focus on others’ opinions. If we treasure security, our hearts become fearful of loss.
But the heart of God is a heart of generosity. When we practice generosity, God’s grace transforms our hearts, reshaping our values and who we’re becoming.
Generosity softens our hearts. The more we give, the less room remains for selfishness to take root. Giving disrupts the cycle that says “I need more” and replaces it with the healthier rhythm of “I have more than enough.”
Paradoxically, generosity also strengthens our hearts. Living generously requires spiritual courage. Through giving, we discover God’s faithfulness, and our faith grows stronger. Generosity trains our hearts to rely on God’s provision in every circumstance.
Finally, generosity creates more room in our hearts for the things and people of God—more space for grace, joy, mercy, and compassion. We become more deeply connected to others than we could have imagined. This is what it means to have the heart of God.
An Invitation to a New Way of Living
At its core, generosity isn’t about money. It’s about reflecting the character of the One who gave everything for us. Jesus’ entire life was an act of generosity—he held nothing back but poured himself out completely.
When Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” it’s not about guilt or obligation. It’s an invitation to a new way of living that the world doesn’t always understand—a life where our hearts are shaped not by fear of loss but by faith, not by scarcity but by abundance.
A generous life leads to a generous heart, and a generous heart reflects God’s heart for each of us.
The question isn’t simply “What do you treasure?” but “Who are you becoming because of what you treasure?”
Through generosity, our lives are transformed from the inside out—our focus shifts, our values realign, and our hearts are reshaped into the image of Christ. Every act of generosity, no matter how small, plants something within us that will not rust or rot. These small seeds can change everything.
Where will you invest your life? Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart will lead you.
