Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.
Jesus teaches his disciples to look carefully at what they treasure. Earthly treasures can be useful, but they cannot provide lasting security. Clothing can be eaten by moths, stored goods can decay, and possessions can be stolen. Jesus is not speaking only about ancient wealth. He is speaking about anything we treat as our final source of safety, happiness, or identity. Everything earthly is temporary, and anything temporary can be lost. Jesus gives the same warning in the parable of the rich man who stored up his abundant harvest in larger barns, only to hear that his life would be required of him that very night (Luke 12:16–21).
The Lord then tells his disciples to store up treasures in heaven. These treasures endure because they are kept with God. They include good works done with an upright heart, generosity toward those in need, love of neighbor, peacemaking, obedience to God, and a life directed toward his Kingdom. Such works already bear fruit in this life, but their full value reaches beyond death because they are done in communion with God.
Jesus then gives the reason for his command: “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (v. 21). In Scripture, the heart is not only the place of feelings. It is the inner center of the person, where desires, decisions, loyalties, and intentions take shape. What we treasure begins to guide what we seek, how we judge, and how we live. If wealth, comfort, approval, or control becomes our treasure, the heart bends in that direction. If God is our treasure, everything else finds its proper place.
The image of the eye deepens this teaching. Jesus says, “The lamp of the body is the eye” (v. 22). In the ancient way of speaking, the eye was connected with the light by which a person sees and moves. A sound eye means a clear and undivided inner direction focused on God. A bad eye means a distorted vision that turns inward, clings to possessions, and cannot see rightly before God.
This is why Jesus connects light and darkness with the whole person. When the eye is sound, “your whole body will be filled with light” (v. 22). When a person’s intention is clear and directed toward God, actions can also become clear and rightly ordered. Generosity, trust, and purity of heart allow God’s light to shape the way a person lives. A selfish or divided heart darkens judgment, because the person begins to see life through fear, envy, or attachment.
Jesus’ warning is serious: “And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be” (v. 23). A person can mistake possessions for security and spiritual darkness for light. This can happen when earthly possessions become a master rather than a servant. The disciple must therefore ask not only, “What do I have?” but “What possesses my heart?”
Christ calls us to a freedom that the world cannot give: freedom from being ruled by possessions, fear, and the need to find security in what cannot last. We still need ordinary things, and we have real responsibilities in daily life. Yet our peace cannot rest on what can decay, be stolen, or pass away. A heart fixed on God can use earthly goods rightly, share them generously, and seek the treasure that lasts.
Lord Jesus, give me a sound eye and an undivided heart. Teach me to treasure what endures, to use earthly goods wisely, and to live in the light of your Kingdom. Amen.
––––––––––––––––
Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. Matthew 6:19-23 and notes on Matthew 6:19 and 6:22-23.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010. Page 18, note on Matthew 6:22.
- Casciaro, José María, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008. Pages 67-68, notes on Matthew 6:19-34 and 6:22-23.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990. Pages 645-646, paragraphs 42-43.
- Aguilar Chiu, José Enrique, Richard J. Clifford, Carol J. Dempsey, Eileen M. Schuller, Thomas D. Stegman, and Ronald D. Witherup, eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018. Page 923.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid OP, and Donald Senior CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. Third Fully Revised Edition, with a Foreword by Pope Francis. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2022. Page 1185.
Comments