But, let’s say that what I described really was the goal of some young husband, father and child of God. Conventional wisdom tells him that he should work hard, invest well, save his money and lay up on earth whatever treasures he has – in expectation of that future day of secular retirement. Even if his intention was as godly as a desire to become a future servant in the Lord’s church, does this conventional wisdom match the wisdom of the Word of God? That might not be an easy question to answer. But doesn’t Christ Jesus tell us not to lay up our treasures here on earth?
Remember that the Lord Jesus was speaking primarily to people who were already in the ministry. The disciples had already, for the most part, given up their secular lives in order to follow Christ. But wasn’t there, lurking in the backside of their hearts, a propensity to return to the world and to the wealth of the world? When the church was in limbo between the death of Christ and His ascension, the disciples were unpacking their nets and checking on the going price of fish. The Lord, here, expresses His awareness of our weaknesses when it comes to the world and treasures.
As I thought about these three verses, it occurred to me that they teach something about Heaven, something about earth and something about the human heart.
Let’s start with what we can learn about HEAVEN.
First, if the earth is a place, then heaven is a place as well – a place somewhat opposite to earth. I believe that there are plenty of scriptures which declare Heaven to be as real as the planet earth. “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” It is impossible to believe the Bible and not to be that God has prepared a place called “Heaven,” and that God’s people will be taken to that place at some point in time.
Second, in some way Heaven is – or has – some sort of treasury. I don’t know if there are grocery stores in heaven just down the street from our mansions. I don’t know if there are any exercise gyms in Heaven, or schools, or thrift stores. There won’t be any police stations, hospitals or hotels, but I’m not sure of some of the others. One thing that will apparently be there is some sort of bank where people have laid up their treasures. I won’t even try to imagine what that place will be like, but I know that it exists – somehow. I know that the Lord recognizes things that we do on earth, and that He somehow credits our personal accounts in His eternal treasure house. Apparently sacrifices that we make on earth for God’s glory, earns credits in glory. Perhaps every time that we share the gospel with an other lost soul, we are laying up treasure in Heaven. If the good Samaritan was a child of God, what he did for the man at the side of the road, earned him treasure in Heaven. Depending on your attitude, perhaps the meals that you prepared for today, are a part of your heavenly treasure. I suppose that just about anything done in Christ’s name and for the glory of God, is being acknowledged and will be recompensed in Glory. But certainly not everything that we do on earth earns heavenly treasure. Whatsoever is done for selfish motives, even though it might be good by nature, has no eternal reward. “When thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” I’m not going to be dogmatic, but maybe one of you ladies fixed a new and special meal for our pot luck. If you did it in order to earn the praise of some of the other ladies, then you have your reward. There may be nothing essentially wrong with that. But if that was your desire, you’ve not laid up any food in heaven on this Fellowship Sunday. We learn from our Saviour that Heaven has some sort of Treasury, and there may be many ways to make deposits therein.
Also, we learn that Heaven doesn’t have the corruptions which earth has. There are no moths to eat away our precious garments. Do you remember what Achan stole from the city of Jericho? Gold, silver and clothing. It may not be true in your case, but for a lot of people, clothing is one of their treasures. The clothing treasures of Heaven will never rot away by mildew or be eaten by moths. Moths and mildew don’t exist in Heaven. And there is no rust either. Rust, of course, is a reaction of various chemicals on various minerals. I have a few silver coins, and to be honest, I’ve not been protecting them as I should. They are not in sealed containers, and so the silver in them gets tarnished – it “rusts” so to speak. There will be no acid rain in Heaven; there may not even be oxygen in Heaven – I don’t know. And it goes without saying that there will not be a single thief in Heaven to take anything that doesn’t belong to him. The treasures that you lay up in glory will be yours, and yours alone, except for those things that you give to the Saviour in worship. I won’t pretend to a thorough understanding these things about Heaven, but the Lord has revealed a few precious bits of truth.
This statement of the Lord also says just a little about EARTH.
Here is a subject about which we know more and more with each passing day. We may turn to Nova, the Discovery Channel and the scientist to tell us about the deep and mysterious things about Creation. But there is also a great deal that we observe and learn every day, so I’m not going to waste our time on this subject.
Suffice it to say that what the Lord Jesus tells us about earth, is just about the reverse of He says about Heaven. “Upon earth …moth and rust doth corrupt, and … thieves break through and steal.” Not only do we have bugs which eat up our precious suits and dresses, and not only does our gold ring wear down on our finger as we wear it for several years, and not only are there burglars and car thieves throughout our neighborhoods…. We have inflation and down turns in our earthly economies which steal what we have laid aside for our retirement. And we have governments raising taxes and withdrawing promises made years ago. And we have banks which collapse and retirement funds which are run by criminals. It used to be said that real estate was a safe investment – that is not as true as we have been told. It used to be said that mutual funds were a safe investment, and some utilities were good – Oh? Based upon experience, I think that the Bible is true – there is no safe investment here in this world. Periodically, people contact me, telling me that their grandfather gathered a nice stamp collection, and now they want to sell that part of their inheritance so that they can retire early. Generally speaking, if you collect things, enjoy yourself and your collection, because rarely will that collection make you any more rich than the happiness that it gives you along the way.
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.” Heaven and earth are essentially opposites in permanency and value. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”
This point in Christ Jesus’ sermon also tells us something about the HUMAN HEART.
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The first thing that this statement teaches is that as a Christian you have treasure to invest. I don’t care who you are; I don’t care how old you are; I don’t care about your gender or your education. As a child of God, with breath in your lungs and days still left in your lives, you have treasure to invest. If you can sing or you have musical talent, you have treasure to invest either on earth or in heaven. If you can write, then you can be an encouragement to some far off servant of God, laying up treasure in heaven. If you are at home, then you can be a blessing to your family in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have a lost friend, you can be a witness to that person for Christ. If you have a dime of income, then you have two mites to throw into the Lord’s treasury. “And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” This reminds us that to some degree we have a choice about what we might love and not love. Remember that Christ was preaching to people who had been born again; whose hearts He had thunderbolted back to life. You have a choice about where you are going to invest your riches. There are only twenty-four hours in a day. You can spend twenty minutes praying for the needs of others, or you can spend two minutes. You can lay up twenty minutes of Heavenly treasure or you can lay up just two – it’s your choice. Here you are in the house of God this afternoon. I believe that you can invest this hour in God’s treasury, by your heart-felt involvement, or you can waste another hour by letting your mind wander, or perhaps by criticizing what I am saying. You can take 10% of your income and deposit it in a savings account in the bank, just as the fiscal experts tell us, or you can invest that money in the work of the Lord and receive an Heavenly certificate of deposit. I am not unsure that just about everything we do can become heavenly treasures. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” That “whatsoever ye are doing” – when done for the glory of God – is done eternally. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ” – Colossians 3:23-24. It is within your choice as a Christian to do all to the glory of Christ – or not. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”
A third point out of this might be that unless we deliberately choose HEAVENLY service, our service will always be earthly. We are very weak-hearted, and even more weakly willed. There is no reason that the service we render for our family, not be for the Lord as well. But unless we are deliberately dedicating our labors to the Lord, then our treasures will ultimately end up as earthly.
Not only are we weak, but we are foolish and easily deceived. I think that I mentioned an acquaintance of mine who has a couple of websites encouraging Bible study and prayer. Ultimately, it is not for me to say one way or another, but since the man has forsaken the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, living in some degree of religious rebellion, I am not sure that any of his labors for God are laying up Heavenly treasures. Depending on the variety of our disobedience, at some point, “the good which we would do, we do not.”
Ultimately the lesson which Jesus will teach out of these words will be about covetousness and contentment. We are spending only a short while in this world, and the investments that we leave here, we are leaving for others – and often not even for our family. But what is invested in the Lord and the work of the Lord – even though it might leave us with little in the world while we are here – will produce joy for the Christian which he will enjoy throughout eternity. How is it that you are spending your precious few hours of earthly life?