Matthew 6:21, What you treasure shapes you

We like to think we are rational creatures, measuring options, weighing outcomes, and making deliberate choices. But more often than not, our lives are not led by logic. They are led by love. Or, more accurately, by what we treasure.

Jesus said it plain: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21, ESV). It is not just about money. It is about value. Whatever you hold dear, whatever you consistently give your time, attention, and affection to, that thing starts shaping your heart. And before long, it shapes your habits, your priorities, and your future.

This is not new. From the beginning, humans have had the power to assign value, and we have also had the habit of getting it wrong.

In Genesis 3:6, Eve saw that the fruit was “a delight to the eyes” and “desired to make one wise.” It had no intrinsic magic. Its danger was not in the fruit itself but in the meaning she gave it. The moment she treasured it above God’s word, her heart followed.

Fast-forward to the wilderness, where Israel built a golden calf (Exodus 32). That gold did not become a god because it was powerful. It became a god because they gave it their attention, their fear, and their hope. They assigned it value, and it reshaped their identity.

We keep doing this. We often prioritize career over family, comfort over calling, and control over trust. And what we treasure quietly reshapes us, whether we notice or not.

The prophets saw this. Isaiah mocked idol-makers in Isaiah 44:14–20, illustrating the absurdity of carving a god from the same wood used to cook dinner. “He feeds on ashes,” Isaiah says. “A deluded heart has led him astray.” The problem is not just the idol. It is the delusion that what we made can now make us whole.

Jesus flips that. He invites us to value something different. Something eternal. In Luke 12:15, He says, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” That is not a suggestion. That is a warning. Life is not found in stacking more stuff. It is found in surrendering to a better kingdom.

Paul understood this shift. In Philippians 3:7–8, he says, “Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” He is not saying possessions are evil. He is saying they are not ultimate. When Christ became his treasure, everything else got revalued.

So what now?

Here is the quiet truth: You already know what you treasure. Look at your calendar. Look at your bank account. Look at your habits. They will show you what your heart is chasing.

And here’s the good news: You can reassign values. Not by guilt. Not by force. But by looking again at Jesus.

Make room to see Him clearly, in Scripture, in silence, in community. The more you see Him, the more He becomes the treasure. And the more He becomes your treasure, the more your heart starts to change.

So ask yourself: What have I been treasuring? And is it shaping me into someone I actually want to become?

~PW 🌮🛶