Matthew 6:20 means that Jesus wants his followers to invest their lives in what lasts forever rather than in things that decay, rust, or can be stolen. The verse is a command to store up treasure with God, where loss and theft cannot reach it. Jesus speaks these words in the Sermon on the Mount, addressing the large crowd and his disciples gathered on a hillside in Galilee.
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal…
Matthew 6:20 (WEB)
What Matthew 6:20 Means
The verse begins with “lay up for yourselves,” a phrase that describes deliberate saving, the way a family stores grain or a merchant keeps goods in a safe place. Jesus is not telling people to stop caring about money or possessions. He is asking them to decide where their security and value will be kept over the long run.
“Treasures in heaven” refers to the things God values and preserves: faithfulness, love, generosity, and a character shaped to resemble God. The verse contrasts these with earthly goods, which “moth and rust consume” and which thieves can take. The promise is that what is stored with God is safe from the ordinary losses of this life. It does not promise that believers will never face hardship, nor does it describe a bank account in heaven measured in gold.
The Context of Matthew 6:20
Matthew’s Gospel was written for a community of Jewish Christians, most likely in the later first century, and it presents Jesus as the teacher who gives the true law. The Sermon on the Mount, which runs through chapters 5 to 7, is his longest collection of teaching. Chapter 6 focuses on practices like giving, prayer, and fasting, where the motive is to please God rather than to be seen by people.
The verses just before this one, 6:19 through 6:21, form a single unit. Jesus contrasts the earth, where treasure decays, with heaven, where it endures, and then adds in verse 21 that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Read in that setting, Matthew 6:20 is less a financial instruction and more a question about where your heart is anchored.
Key Phrases in Matthew 6:20
Matthew 6:21
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(WEB)
This verse, which comes right after 6:20, explains the reason behind the command. Where your treasure is, your heart will follow, so the choice of what to store up shapes your affections and priorities.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
17 Charge those who are rich in this present world that they not be haughty, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy; 18 that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to share; 19 laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold of eternal life.
(WEB)
Paul instructs wealthy believers to place their hope in God rather than in uncertain riches, and to be generous. This passage gives practical shape to the call to store up treasure in heaven through good works and a generous spirit.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 6:20
Father, you know how much I worry about money, security, and what the future will bring. Teach me to see which treasures will last and to invest my time, my resources, and my love in what you value. Where I have been holding tightly to things that wear out, loosen my grip and give me a settled trust in you. Help my heart rest where my treasure is, in your faithfulness and in your kingdom. Amen.
