Where is our Heart’s and Focus?

Where Your Treasure Is
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offers a challenge to the human heart. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:19–
20). These verses are not merely a warning against materialism—they are a call to consider the affections and desires of the heart.
 
Earthly Wealth Fades Away
Jesus begins with a contrast. Earthly treasures are vulnerable
because moths can consume, rust will corrode, and thieves break
in and steal. In a world where possessions can vanish overnight,
the pursuit of security through material wealth is extremely
hazardous. But the deeper issue is not the treasure itself—it’s the
heart’s attachment to it. “For where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). The location of our treasure
reveals the focus of our hearts.
 
The Eye as the Lamp
Jesus then uses another metaphor to explain, saying, “The eye
is the lamp of the body.” A healthy eye—generous, clear in
purpose—fills the whole body with light. But an unhealthy eye--
stingy, clouded by greed—plunges the soul into darkness. This
imagery suggests that our spiritual vision, our way of seeing
material things, determines whether we walk in light or darkness.
The Greek word for healthy here implies generosity, while the
word for unhealthy implies selfishness.
 
We Must Choose
Jesus concludes with a stark reality: “No one can serve two
masters... You cannot serve both God and mammon” (Matthew
6:24). The word translated as mammon is money or wealth, a
term that personifies wealth as a rival deity (the almighty dollar, if
you will). Divided loyalty is impossible. Our heart/mind will
inevitably choose one master over the other.
 
This passage invites us to examine not just our bank accounts,
but also our desires, our focus, and our allegiance. What do we
treasure? What fills our vision? Whom do we serve? In a culture
that prizes accumulation and wealth as a sign of success, Jesus’
words are countercultural. They call for us to invest in that which
is eternal—acts of mercy, love, obedience, and faith. These are
the treasures that neither moth nor rust can corrupt.
 
- Dale J. Babinsky