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Note: Verses & Commentary extracted using WordSearch8 (http://www.wordsearchbible.com/)

 

Where Our Treasure is to be Kept:

 

Matthew 6:19-21 (KJV)

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.

References:

Vs 19: Prov. 23:4; 1Tim. 6:17; Heb. 13:5; James 5:1

Vs 20: Matt 19:21; Luke 12:33 & 18:22; 1Tim. 6:19; 1Pet. 1:4

The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty:

6:19-24 (Luke 12:33-34; 11:34-36; 16:13). One’s attitude toward wealth is another barometer of righteousness. The Pharisees believed the Lord materially blessed all He loved. They were intent on building great treasures on earth. But treasures built here are subject to decay (moth destroys cloth and rust destroys metal; cf. James 5:2-3) or theft, whereas treasures deposited in heaven can never be lost.
The Pharisees had this problem because their spiritual eyes were diseased (Matt. 6:22). With their eyes they were coveting money and wealth. Thus they were in spiritual darkness. They were slaves to the master of greed, and their desire for money was so great they were failing in their service to their true Master, God. Money is the translation of the Aramaic word for “wealth or property,” mamōna (“mammon,” kjv).
The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

The Fourfold Gospel: or A Harmony of the Four Gospels:

A Matt. VI. 19–34.

a 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal. [In our Lord's time banks, such as we have, were unknown, and in order to keep money its possessor frequently buried it, thus subjecting it to rust and corrosion. The havoc caused by moths is too familiar to need comment (Jas 5:2). Costly and ornamental apparel was reckoned among a man's chief treasures in olden times. See Josh 7:21; II Kings 5:5; Luke 16:19. Oriental houses were frequently made of loose stone or sun-dried bricks, so that the thief found it easier to enter by digging through the wall than by opening the barred door. A too literal compliance with this negative precept would discourage thrift. The precept is not intended to discourage the possession of property in moderation, but it forbids us to hoard for selfish purposes, or to look upon our possessions as permanent and abiding. The lives of many men of our day seem to be employed to no other purpose than that of amassing an abundance of earthly treasure. But no true Christian can envy them, or follow their example]: 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal [As the impossibility of hoarding earthly treasures is in the preceding verse urged as a reason against it, so in this verse the possibility of amassing perpetual possessions in heaven is set forth as the reason why we should do it. Thus the striking contrast between the two kinds of treasures is brought to our notice, so that it is the height of folly not to make a proper choice between them]: 21 for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also. [Having contrasted the two treasures, Jesus here suggests the contrast between the two places where they are stored up. Since the heart follows the treasure, that it may dwell with the object of its love, we should place our treasures in heaven, even if the treasures there were no better than the treasures on earth; for it is better that our hearts should abide in the city of God than on this sinful earth.]

The Fourfold Gospel: or A Harmony of the Four Gospels.

 

— Barnes' Notes on the New Testament:

Lay not up for yourselves treasures, etc. Treasures, or wealth, among the ancients, consisted in clothes, or changes of raiment, as well as in gold, silver, gems, wine, lands, and oil. It meant an abundance of anything that was held to be conducive to the ornament or comfort of life. As the Orientalists delighted much in display, in splendid equipage, and costly garments, their treasures, in fact, consisted much in beautiful and richly ornamented articles of apparel. See Genesis 45:22, where Joseph gave to his brethren changes of raiment; Joshua 7:21, where Achan coveted and secreted a goodly Babylonish garment. See also Judges 14:12. This fact will account for the use of the word moth. When we speak of wealth, we think at once of gold, and diver, and lands, and houses. When a Hebrew or an Orientalist spoke of wealth, he thought first of what would make display; and included, as an essential part; splendid articles of dress. The moth is a small insect that finds its way to clothes and garments, and destroys them. The moth would destroy their apparel, the rust their silver and gold; thus all their treasure would waste away.

(*) "upon earth" Proverbs 23:4, Luke 18:24,35, Hebrews 13:5

Verse 20. Lay up treasures...in heaven. That is, have provision made for your eternal felicity. Do not exhaust your strength, and spend your days, in providing for the life here, but let your chief anxiety be to be prepared for eternity. There nothing corrupts, nothing terminates, no enemies plunder or destroy. To have treasure in heaven is to possess evidence that its purity and joys will be ours. It is to be heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. The heart, or affections, will of course be fixed on the treasure. To regulate the heart, it is therefore important that the treasure, or object of attachment, should be right.

— Barnes' Notes on the New Testament

 

The New Testament Commentary: Vol. I - Matthew and Mark:

19. Lay not up.—The prohibition is not against the mere accumulation of property; for this, if accompanied by a proper use of it, in one means of laying up treasures in heaven; but it is against hoarding earthly possessions for selfish purposes. The uncertainty attached to such possessions, exposed, as they are, to moth and rust, and to the depredations of robbers, is given as one reason for not hoarding them, while a still better reason is reserved for verse 21 below.

20. but lay up.—The precept, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven," is not explained; but the meaning of it and the methods of accomplishing it are both left to the good sense of each individual. The security of such treasures against the moth and the rust and the thieves which threaten earthly possessions is presented as a motive to obedience. The contrast is very striking. No man who pauses a single moment for reflection can fail to realize it.

21. for where thy treasure is.—Here is the chief reason for laying up treasures in heaven and not on the earth. Where the heart is, there is our source of happiness. If it is on the earth, our happiness must partake of all the uncertainty of earthly things, and it must be lost forever when we leave the world. But if it is in heaven, when we leave this world we go away to the real sources of our happiness, and we find them as durable as eternity.

The New Testament Commentary: Vol. I - Matthew and Mark.

 

— J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible:

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:

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also [Matt. 6:19-21].

A great many folk think that money cannot be used in a spiritual way and that when you talk about money, you are talking about something that is only material. However, our Lord says that we are to lay up for ourselves treasure in heaven. How can we do that? Well, instead of putting it in a bank in Switzerland, put it in heaven by giving it to the Lord's work down here -- but make sure it is in the Lord's work. You ought to investigate everything you give to. Make sure that you are giving to that which will accumulate treasure for you in heaven. If it is used for the propagation of the gospel and to get out the Word of God, it becomes legal tender in heaven, and that is how we gather treasure in heaven.

Perhaps you are saying, "But I don't give for that reason." You ought to, because our Lord said, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." That is a laudable motive for giving. And He gives the reason: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." If you get enough treasure laid up in heaven, you are certainly going to think a lot about heaven. But if it is in the bank, your thoughts are going to be on the bank. There is an ever-present danger of worshiping mammon rather than God.

— J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible