“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” (Matt. 6:19-21, NKJV). What crucial truths is Jesus speaking here?

 Who hasn’t read story after story of those who had amassed great wealth, only somehow to lose it? Our world is a very unstable place: wars, crime, violence, natural disasters, anything can come in a moment and take away all that we have worked for and, perhaps, even what we have honestly and faithfully earned. Then, too, in a moment, death comes, and so these things become useless to us anyway.

 Of course, Scripture never tells us it’s wrong to be rich or to have amassed wealth; instead, in these verses Jesus warns us to keep it all in perspective.

 What, though, does it mean to lay up treasure in heaven? It means making God and His cause first and foremost in your life, instead of making money first and foremost. Among other things, it means using what we have for the work of God, for the advancement of His kingdom, for working in behalf of others, and for being a blessing to others.

 For instance, when God called Abram, He planned to use Abram and His family to bless all the families of the earth. God said to Abraham, who “was called the friend of God” (James 2:23, NKJV), “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:2, 3, NJKV).

 “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham” (Gal. 3:9). We have the same challenge presented to us as was presented to him.

 “Money has great value, because it can do great good. In the hands of God’s children it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, and clothing for the naked. It is a defense for the oppressed, and a means of help to the sick. But money is of no more value than sand, only as it is put to use in providing for the necessities of life, in blessing others, and advancing the cause of Christ.” — Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons,p. 351.