Click for audio: Treasure of the Heart
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay 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 will your heart be also” (Matt. 6: 19-21).
“If your consciousness is right, that is, if you have a good understanding of God as the loving Source of your boundless supply, you will always be able to demonstrate whatever money or goods you may require, wherever you are, or whatever your conditions may be.”—Emmet Fox
One thing that is important to our understanding of our unique material environment is that our conditions are not the result of what God thinks of us, but of what we think of God. There are many who believe that their successes or their failures are the consequences of God rewarding or punishing them for their performance. God, however, is the same light, love, power, and life always. God does not give in one instance and withhold in another.
Jesus is not giving his followers a choice between having or not having material success; he is pointing out the need to set priorities. If we affirm that God is the unfailing source of our peace and prosperity, then we place a high value on developing a deeper understanding of this relationship. If we give lip service to God as our unfailing source yet look continuously to our outer conditions for peace and fulfillment then our peace and sense of fulfillment is constantly at risk. The agents of change—moth and rust—are constantly at work and will keep us on the edge of doubt. It is difficult to find peace in the ever-shifting realm of change.
If you want to clearly understand where your treasure is, examine your priorities. Do you seek God for the material rewards or do you seek God with a willingness to surrender to a better, higher way than you have been pursuing? Remember, this is not a choice between having and not having, but a choice of setting a priority that works for rather than against you.