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Daily Devotion — Matthew 6:21 — Misplaced Affections
Do you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Have you misplaced your affections and joy into the hands of your idols? For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21 NKJV
Israel’s Misplaced Affections
The things that we treasure are the things that we love most. And our hearts are bound to those things that we love the most. This text works in both directions. I believe that the object which you love will be what you throw your treasures at, and what your treasure is, becomes what your heart will be bound to. This could be a good or a bad thing. In context, Christ is laying out a contrast between two opposites. Either you are laying up treasures spiritually in heaven, or physically in this short, fleeting life. A good case study is in the Old Testament with the nation of Israel. The generation that was brought out of Egypt did not love Yahweh (heavenly things). As a result, they worshiped Baal (Judges 8:33) and set up idols (earthly things). They gave up their gold to make a worthless idol, proving that their thankfulness and affection was not placed on God, but on their own creation (Ex. 32:1–6; c.f. Rom. 1:18–23). As “complex” and “intellectual” people in the 21st…
