If you had to choose between $100 today or $1 million a year from now, which would you take? Most of us would say it’s a no-brainer: wait for the bigger reward. Jesus offers us a choice like that every day with our money. He calls it storing up treasures in heaven, and our everyday decisions often show we choose the $100.
A viral video makes the point. A young boy is offered cash or two Oreos, and he picks the Oreos. He isn’t dumb. He is just short-sighted, looking only at the short-term reward. Before we laugh, it is worth asking: how often do I choose the Oreos?
This post comes from a message in our series The Generous Life, about why our generosity matters, both for others and for ourselves, in this life and the next.
If you only have a minute:
- Jesus gave us financial advice. Store up treasures in heaven, not on earth (Matthew 6:19-21).
- Earthly treasure is temporary. You can’t take it with you, but you can send it ahead.
- The tithe is returning, not giving. Generosity begins above the tithe.
- Generosity blesses you now. It brings joy and freedom, because money no longer owns you.
- Generosity has eternal rewards. Salvation is a free gift, but how we steward what God gives us matters forever.
What if Jesus were your financial advisor?
It is smart to have good advisors in life, including a financial advisor. So what if Jesus offered to be your financial advisor? Would you do what He says, or would you say, “I know You created the universe and all, but I think I know better on this one”?
There is a difference between knowing what Jesus says and doing what He says. Here is His advice about our money:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
Earthly treasure isn’t bad, it is temporary
Jesus didn’t say treasure on earth is bad or evil. The Bible doesn’t teach that money is evil. It warns about the love of money, and you can love money and be completely broke. Jesus also didn’t say not to save, or to give all your money away. God knows we need a home, food, water and clothes, and He meets our needs.
What Jesus wants us to understand is that whatever we do, buy or collect for ourselves on earth is very temporary at best. A vacation ends. A new car becomes an old car. Even a nice home will one day belong to someone else. You can’t take it with you. But Jesus teaches that you can send it ahead.
What Jesus meant by treasures in heaven
Jesus told a two-sentence story about this:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matthew 13:44)
Jesus told parables, stories from everyday life that teach a spiritual lesson. Picture a man walking off the main path into a field. Something catches his eye. He digs around and finds a treasure worth enough to change his life. In his joy, he sells everything he has to buy that field. He isn’t just willing to give it all up. He wants to, because he has discovered something far more valuable.
What is a treasure in heaven?
Here is an honest answer: we don’t know exactly. Jesus knows. We don’t know whether treasures in heaven are physical or spiritual. But we do know they are real, because Jesus said so. We know He told us to store them up. And we know He would never advise us to do something that wasn’t far better for us.
Giving to the Kingdom of God is how we store up that treasure. Many good causes and charities exist, but giving to the Kingdom of God means giving to anything that spreads the good news and hope of Jesus. That includes supporting your local church, so people in your region can learn to follow Jesus and discover abundant life in Him, and supporting missions and ministries whose purpose is to spread the Gospel.
Tithing and generosity: returning vs. giving
If you borrowed your neighbor’s lawn mower and then brought it back, you wouldn’t say, “You’re welcome for giving it back.” You would say, “Thank you for letting me use it.” Returning something isn’t generous.
The tithe works the same way. A tithe is the first 10% of your income, and Scripture says it already belongs to God:
“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.” (Leviticus 27:30)
In this message, a story was shared about this exact shift. Before becoming a Christian, the giving was whatever might be left at the end of the month, which was almost never. After accepting Jesus in 1998 and learning about tithing, writing that first 10% check felt incredibly generous. Later came the realization that the tithe was never ours in the first place. Returning it to God is the baseline. Giving generously above the tithe is like taking the training wheels off our spiritual bikes. That is where the generous life begins.
God doesn’t need your money. He is doing just fine. Malachi 3:10 invites us to “bring the whole tithe into the storehouse” and test His faithfulness, not because the church wants your money, but so we can all experience a blessed life where money isn’t our god.
How storing up treasures in heaven blesses you now
Joy
There is a joy in giving that can’t be experienced if we give grudgingly. It comes from knowing we are doing something eternally important with the money God has given us. It doesn’t come from what we buy or receive, but from what we give.
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)
Freedom
There is also a joy that comes from freedom. When money owns us, we can never experience true financial peace. As we grow closer to God, the stuff of this world matters less and less, and eternal things matter more and more. The apostle Paul put it this way in the New Living Translation (NLT): “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7-8).
Eternal rewards
“For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.” (Matthew 16:27)
This has nothing to do with earning salvation. Salvation is a free gift through Jesus. But what we do with what God has given us will have an eternal impact and eternal rewards.
What this means for you
This isn’t a message about what you should do. It is an invitation to ask God what He wants you to do. Listen to the Holy Spirit, and obey Him even when you don’t fully understand. Ask Him, “How often am I choosing the Oreos?”
How to start living generously today
Bring your tithe to the church. Not so the church can get your money, but because God tells us to, and it helps us live a life where money isn’t our god.
Give generously above your tithe. That might mean giving more to your local church so it can reach more people with the good news of Jesus. It might mean partnering with local or global missions and ministries that are reaching people for Jesus. It might mean giving to people near you when you know they have a need.
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40)
Ask God for daily generosity opportunities. Each morning, pray, “God, open my eyes to opportunities to be generous today.” Then listen to the Holy Spirit and say yes when He brings someone across your path.
It starts with a changed heart
If you try to be generous in your own strength, you will fail. We need the heart change that Jesus gives first. When someone receives Jesus, giving can go from feeling like a bill to pay to something they truly want to do. If you are ready for that change, you can pray this prayer: “Father God, I know that I am a sinner, and I need a Savior. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and died on a cross for my sins. Today I receive what He did for me. I receive Jesus as my Savior. I ask Him to come into my heart and change me into who He wants me to be. Amen.”
Every dollar we are given is an investment opportunity. Keep reading with the 3 seeds of biblical stewardship and how God’s generosity transforms our lives, both from The Generous Life series. You can read Jesus’ words in context in Matthew 6.
Wherever you are today, there is a next step. If you just prayed that prayer or want to know more about who Jesus is, start here. If you need someone to pray with you, reach out to our prayer and care team. And if you live near Kissimmee, Florida, we would love to see you on a Sunday.
Frequently Asked Questions About Treasures in Heaven
What does it mean to store up treasures in heaven?
In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus tells us not to store up treasures on earth, where they can be destroyed or stolen, but in heaven, where they last forever. Giving to the Kingdom of God, anything that spreads the good news of Jesus, is how we store up that treasure.
Is tithing the same as being generous?
In this message, the tithe, the first 10% of your income, is described as returning what already belongs to God (Leviticus 27:30). Generosity is what we give above the tithe.
Do we earn salvation by giving?
No. Salvation is a free gift through Jesus. But Jesus said He “will reward each person according to what they have done” (Matthew 16:27), so how we steward what God gives us matters for eternity.
