The Advantage of Heavenly Treasure

Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.
—Matthew 6:20

Everything we accumulate on earth is going to be either stolen, destroyed, or left behind. So Jesus talked about the advantage of heavenly treasure instead. He said in Matthew 6:20, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.” Did you know not one dollar invested in God’s work has ever been lost? When you invest in God’s work, you are ensuring rewards for yourself in heaven as more and more people come to know Christ as Savior because of your investment. Heavenly treasure is like an eternal annuity—it pays year after year after year, throughout eternity.

A couple of years ago, a wealthy buyer paid $195 million for a portrait of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol. It was the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of American art. Now, I do not know what is going to happen to that piece. I imagine it is moth-proof. I am sure it is protected and insured against theft. I do not know if the value of that artwork will go up or down over time. But one thing I know with absolute certainty: that collector is going to leave it behind.

On the other hand, consider the investment made by a couple in the church I pastor. The husband was a corporate executive, and he had accumulated a good amount of money by the time he reached retirement age. He could have gone to Florida and relaxed for the rest of his days, but he wanted to spend his time doing things that would count for eternity. He and his wife thought they would go to South America as missionaries. But a friend and mentor said, “God has given you the gift to make money. What if you could make enough money not just to fund one missionary but to fund dozens of missionaries and other aspects of God’s work?” So at age sixty-five, Andy Horner and his wife, Joan, started a direct sales company, and they gave away tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars to fund missionaries and Christian ministries around the world. They made the decision to invest their funds not in the things of earth but in the things of heaven.

In verse 21, Jesus added, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I would have said it the other way around: where you heart is, there your treasure will be. What you love is what you invest in. Doesn’t that make sense? But Jesus said just the opposite: what you invest in is what you love. Your heart follows your treasure. If you want your heart to be centered around the things of God, invest in the things of God.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Straight Talk about Your Money” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2022.

Robin Pogrebin, “Warhol’s ‘Marilyn,’ at $195 Million, Shatters Auction Record for an American Artist,” New York Times, May 9, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/09/arts/design/warhol-auction-marilyn-monroe.html.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org