Matthew 6:21

Commentary on Matthew 6:21

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
(Matthew 6:21, King James Version)

Matthew 6 [i] sits within the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus teaches His disciples what life in the kingdom of God looks like. The chapter deals with the inner life of the believer: motives, desires, loyalties, and trust. Jesus consistently presses beyond outward behaviour to the inward orientation of the heart.

Matthew 6:21 is a short sentence, but it cuts to the core of Christian discipleship. It exposes what we truly value and calls us to examine the direction of our affections.

1. Exegetical Reflection

The immediate context

Matthew 6:19–20 read:
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”

Jesus contrasts two kinds of treasure: earthly and heavenly. Earthly treasure is temporary, fragile, and vulnerable. Heavenly treasure is eternal, secure, and incorruptible. The contrast is not merely about money; it is about what we value most.

Then comes Matthew 6:21:
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Jesus is not saying that treasure follows the heart. He is saying the opposite: the heart follows the treasure. Whatever we invest in—emotionally, financially, mentally, spiritually—will shape our desires and loyalties.

The broader context of Matthew 6

The chapter repeatedly addresses the heart:

Matthew 6:1:
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them…”
Motives matter.
Matthew 6:24:
“No man can serve two masters… Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Loyalty matters.
Matthew 6:33:
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness…”
Priorities matter.

Jesus is forming a people whose hearts are aligned with the kingdom of God rather than the anxieties and ambitions of this world.

2. Theological Insights

A Christian understanding of the heart

In Scripture, the “heart” is the centre of the person—affections, will, desires, and commitments. According to Christian theology, the heart is naturally disordered because of sin. As John Calvin famously wrote, the human heart is an “idol factory.” We are constantly tempted to treasure created things above the Creator.

Matthew 6:21 exposes this tendency. It shows that our hearts are not neutral; they are drawn to whatever we treasure. If our treasure is earthly wealth, reputation, comfort, or control, our hearts will be shaped by anxiety and self-reliance. If our treasure is heavenly—Christ, His kingdom, His righteousness—our hearts will be shaped by trust, generosity, and hope.

The lordship of Christ

Jesus’ teaching here is not merely moral advice. It is a call to wholehearted allegiance. Matthew 6:24 makes this explicit:
“No man can serve two masters… Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

Christ claims exclusive lordship over the believer’s heart. Treasuring Him above all else is not optional; it is the essence of discipleship.

The work of the Holy Spirit

Christian theology emphasises that only the Holy Spirit can reorient the heart. We do not simply “try harder” to treasure heavenly things. Instead, the Spirit renews our desires, enabling us to seek first the kingdom of God.

3. Application to Modern Christian Living

1. Examine your treasure

Ask: What do I daydream about? What do I fear losing? What shapes my decisions?
These questions reveal where your treasure lies.

2. Practise generosity

Generosity is not merely giving money; it is loosening the grip of earthly treasure. When we give, our hearts follow. We begin to desire what God desires.

3. Cultivate heavenly habits

Prayer, Scripture reading, worship, and fellowship are not religious duties; they are ways of investing in heavenly treasure. They shape the heart toward Christ.

4. Resist anxiety

Matthew 6:25–34 remind us that anxiety often reveals misplaced treasure. Jesus calls us to trust the Father who knows our needs.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
(Matthew 6:33)

5. Live with eternal perspective

Earthly treasures fade. Heavenly treasures endure. This perspective frees us to live courageously, generously, and joyfully.

4. Meditation Guide

Read

Slowly read Matthew 6:19–34 [ii]. Let the words settle in your mind.

¹⁹Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

²⁰But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

²¹For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

²²The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

²³But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

²⁴No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

²⁵Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

²⁶Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

²⁷Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

²⁸And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

²⁹And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

³⁰Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

³¹Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

³²(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

³³But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

³⁴Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Reflect

What am I treasuring most right now?
How is that shaping my heart?
What would it look like to treasure Christ above all?

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to reorder your desires. Confess misplaced treasures. Pray for a heart that seeks first the kingdom of God.

Act

Choose one concrete step today that reflects heavenly treasure—an act of generosity, a moment of prayer, a decision made in faith rather than fear.

[i] Matthew 6

King James Version

6 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

2 Therefore 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.

3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

[ii] Matthew 6:19-34