More Than One Way to Store Up Treasure in Heaven

Last updated on: July 10, 2025 at 10:17 am by Randy Alcorn

0 Comments

More Than One Way to Store Up Treasure in Heaven 2025-06-25T10:25:01-08:00 Randy Alcorn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The primary passage of Scripture that talks about storing up treasures in Heaven is Matthew 6:19-21, where Jesus tells us to transfer our wealth from one place to another:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

When we die, earthly treasure will no longer be ours, but wealth we’ve transferred to Heaven will remain ours forever.

The treasures on earth of Matthew 6 are material things. The treasures in Heaven are eternal rewards in a near context of financial giving. How does one store up treasures in Heaven? The most obvious answer is through giving, which as a spiritual discipline, along with fasting and praying, has been Christ’s subject matter.

Unfortunately, some commentaries and several sermons I’ve heard and read on Matthew 6:19–21 are remarkably vague as to its meaning. They spiritualize the passage, divorcing it from its context and failing to connect it to its parallel passages. They interpret Christ’s words as a general call to be kingdom-minded and say He makes no reference to giving away material goods.

Certainly, the passage would be far easier to fulfill if it merely required good intentions on our part. Instead, it calls us to radical acts of generosity. We dare not let our convenience and culture—including church culture—dictate our interpretation.

Craig Blomberg states in the New American Commentary on Matthew, “In this context…storing up treasures focuses particularly on the compassionate use of material resources to meet others’ physical and spiritual needs, in keeping with the priorities of God’s kingdom.”

The interpretation of Matthew 6 I advocate is emphatically supported by Paul’s statements in 1 Timothy 6, where he borrows the words of Jesus “lay up treasures for themselves”:

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth…Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age…”

“In this way” points back to doing good deeds and specifically being generous and willing to share, which are clearly about financial giving and material generosity. Financial giving is said to be a means of laying up treasure in Heaven. For Paul to speak of laying up treasure—and not only treasure but for themselves in the age to come (in Heaven)—seems an unmistakable allusion to Christ’s words in Matthew 6. I think it also demonstrates Paul’s understanding of what Jesus said.

The Matthew 6 passage and its parallels in Matthew 19, Mark 12, Luke 12, and 1 Timothy 6 show a direct connection between actually giving away money, which God in turn regards as or rewards as treasure in Heaven. Of course, Christ’s words can be broadly applied to how we use our time and abilities. But we must not deny or neglect His primary meaning concerning giving away our money and possessions.

The Bible shows that anything we put in God’s hands is an investment in eternity. That certainly includes money but is not limited to it. Giving our all to God includes our time, talents, efforts, and relationships. Every aspect of our lives must be at Christ’s disposal; that’s what it means to be His disciple (Luke 14:33).

God will reward us for more than financial giving. He will also give us eternal rewards for doing good works (Ephesians 6:8; Romans 2:6, 10), persevering under persecution (Luke 6:22–23), showing compassion to the needy (Luke 14:13–14), and treating our enemies kindly (Luke 6:35).

The way to lay up treasures in Heaven includes giving away our money and possessions but of course is not limited to it. Scripture teaches that those things which we keep can also serve kingdom purposes. They can be generously shared and invested and used in ways that serve eternal purposes, that further God’s kingdom for His glory rather than just building our own little kingdoms for our own glory.

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"The biblical references and examples make the message easy to follow, while the focus on ..."

harry085drop

Being with God Is the Heart ..."

"As we do good works (no matter how small), and struggle to live holy lives ..."

Tom Hering

How Can We Be Ready to ..."

"Katy Faust's "articles" are junk science at best."

Roger J.

Every Child Is Known and Loved ..."

"People can feed their thoughts or a few notes into AI and be delighted with ..."

rrhersh

AI, Ghostwriting, and the Ethics of ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category About Me Animals Books Books and Resources Christ Christian Life Christians Past and Present Church Creation Culture and Worldview Doctrine and Theology Eternal Perspective Ministries Fun Grace and Truth Grief Happiness Heaven Marriage and Family Missions Money and Giving Persecuted Church Politics Prayer Prolife Salvation Sexual Purity Sovereignty and Free Will Suffering and Evil Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz