Matthew 6:21

Matthew 6:21 is the twenty-first verse of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse continues the discussion of wealth.

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

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

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

For additional translations see here: Matthew 6:21

In the previous two verses Jesus explained why one should store one's treasure in heaven rather than on earth. This verse states that if one place one's treasure in heaven that is where one's heart will be. This is an implicit warning, which is made clear later in the chapter, that if one's treasure is on earth one's heart and attention will also be on earthly matters, to the exclusion of God. While the previous verses stated that placing one's treasures in heaven was wise, this one shifts to warning that not doing so might be costly. Matthew 6:24 makes this explicit. This verse also makes clear that treasure is not some specific collection of objects, but is rather anything that one values in life.

References

• Luz, Ulrich. Matthew 1-7: A Commentary. trans. Wilhlem C. Linss. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortess, 1989.
• Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1992.