A variety of studies in psychology have shown that intentionally looking at someone’s face and making eye contact increases feelings of love and affection for someone? It ignites and deepens relationships and feelings of gratitude and enjoyment.

Try it with a loved one. Really look at them as they talk to you. Gaze into their eyes as they talk at length about something. Don’t look at your phone, the TV, don’t be driving. Fix your eyes on them and you will see your appreciation and admiration and love for them well up.

It’s the same with Jesus! “Where the eyes go, the body will follow.”

Have you ever been driving and you look at something on the side of the road, a billboard, a sign, whatever, and you notice the car starts to drift that way?

Because the body automatically goes in the direction that the eyes are looking.

It’s pretty amazing. If you’re looking to the right, and you turn your head that way, what happens? Your head turns your neck, your neck turns your shoulders, and then your whole torso opens up that way.

It’s just a natural thing: how you orient yourself changes everything.

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

He follows that up with, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.”

What’s the connection between these two thoughts? It means that what you behold, what you focus on, what your eyes are fixed on is what you treasure.

And just like with a loved one but so much greater and deeper, when you behold Jesus intently, when you keep your eyes fixed on Him and His kingdom, He becomes your treasure. And when Jesus is the treasure of your heart, your heart will feel infinitely fuller and completely satisfied, and your life will be full of light!
Nothing in this life is greater than knowing and living in relationship with Jesus, and everything in life is greater in light of knowing Jesus! This is why at Calvary we say that a relationship with Jesus changes everything! He is our treasure!

When you fix your eyes on Him, the struggles of this world become more manageable and easier to carry, our worldly desires and ambitions fall into their proper place as we shift our focus to that which is eternal and lasting, and our fears become faith as we trust in Him to provide and guide in everything.

This is only possible when we fix our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith, when we keep the eyes of our heart and affection focused on His kingdom and righteousness.

When Jesus is the treasure of your heart and you have a kingdom mindset, when you understand that heaven is your home, and when you focus on the eternal instead of the temporal, Jesus promises that your life “will be full of light.”

But what happens when your gaze is set firmly on the treasures of the world? The world becomes your true treasure. And when the world is your treasure, Jesus promises your life will be full of darkness.

Then, He takes it even further, telling us that it’s impossible to have one eye on the heavenly and one on the worldly. There’s no middle ground here. In fact, in Revelation 3:16 (NIV), Jesus calls this being lukewarm and says He will “spit you out of [His] mouth.”

You simply cannot serve God and live for His kingdom and also mammon, which is defined as “the treasure a person trusts in.”

When we serve mammon, our god is actually the self. Mammon worship is self-worship. And the problem with worship of any kind for which God is not the object is that we become slaves to the thing we’re worshiping.

When you elevate your feelings, the fulfillment of your desires, or your entertainment and comfort, you become consumed by those things. When you elevate your works, performance becomes your master. When you elevate your appearance, your image or status, your career, finances, or family, your gender, sexual, ethnic, national, or cultural identity and you place all your trust upon these things, you become subservient to that thing, and any challenge to its place in your life feels like an attack on your very core!

And the worst part is that this god of mammon promises freedom and fulfillment but delivers bondage and brokenness—it leaves us lacking and lost in darkness.

But not God. When we serve Christ, whether we have nothing to our name or we have an embarrassment of riches, whether we’re in a prison or a palace, starving or well-fed, whether we can afford an iPhone 4, iPhone 14, or can’t even afford a pay phone, if Christ is all we have, then we have everything we need because Christ is everything!

Reflection Questions

1. What stood out to you about Matthew 6:19-34?
2. What is mammon?
3. Why is it impossible to serve God and mammon?
4. What are some of the things the world treasures?
5. Where is your treasure right now?
6. What are you beholding today that is impacting your relationship with Jesus?
7. What is the solution to worry? How can you apply this to your life today?

This Week

It’s time for some true, honest self-reflection and a little blind-spot 360 reviewing. First, check your heart and prayerfully ask yourself who you’re serving. Then, ask a friend or two to be honest with you about what they’re seeing in your life.

Memory Verse

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”—Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)

Prayer Guide

Heavenly Father, I desire to serve You above all else. I want Your Son to be the treasure of my heart, and I want Your kingdom to be where my eyes are focused. Help me by Your Spirit to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. Amen.

If you have questions you aren’t sure of, please reach out to us at CalvaryFTL.org/Questions.