Part of my nightly routine involves writing in my “Thanksgiving Journal,” in which I meditate on and praise God for all the blessings he has gifted me within the past 24 hours. Some of my prayers of thanks include tangible blessings such as my wife, our home, and our family and friends. Other prayers include intangible blessings such as encouragement from others, mental wellness, and the ability to surround ourselves with fellow believers. This journal helps me take the treasures I have been given and properly store them in my heart.

So when Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth” (Matthew 6:19), I’m slightly taken aback. Is Jesus telling me and you not to take note of what we have been blessed with while here on earth? Are we to disregard our most prized blessings and only be focused on our most basic needs? Should we abandon our material world altogether and dedicate our lives to the meditation of Scripture 24/7?

Not quite. Jesus never condemns us for having earthly belongings. In fact, he’s the one who gives them to us and encourages us to pray for our daily needs in the Lord’s Prayer. God has entrusted us to be good caretakers of his creation and to bring him glory as we do it. Jesus’ warning here is not about what we have been given but our approach to it. How we treasure our blessings reflects whether our hearts are focused on our Savior or on ourselves and our wallets.

Our hearts are in the middle of a lifelong tug-of-war between being thankful for God’s blessings and wanting to serve ourselves: “I am thankful for a roof over my head,” but the neighbor has a slightly bigger house and better curb appeal. “I am thankful for the people in my life,” but they would be so much better if they acted how I wanted them to. “Life is good if there is food on my table,” but a sigh of annoyance rises when the fridge can’t hold this week’s groceries.

If our tangible and intangible blessings come first in our lives, how much room will we have left for Christ? Focusing too much on this world will leave us selfishly wanting more instead of giving thanks for what God has already given to us. If our hearts are so full of these blessings that we discard our Savior, the wall of temporary treasures will be built so high that we’ll end up blocking Jesus from our view entirely.

It may feel like the more we have, the better we can conquer the world, but Jesus tells us this world is a place “where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). Yes, thieves steal children from this world before they get to rest in their mothers’ arms. Moths plague our bodies and minds as we grow older and weaker with age, eventually making us succumb to the grave. Vermin gnaw away at a couple’s promise of lifelong commitment as they look for satisfaction in places other than their spouse. Without Jesus, all these troubles and more cause our hearts to crumble and lead us to discard the heavenly treasures of hope, peace, and trust in the God who wants nothing more than our hearts to be filled completely with him.

Let’s stop pursuing stuff in the hopes it will give us eternal security. Rather, you and I can fill our hearts with a heavenly treasure that remains constant, a treasure that pursues us when our temporary blessings wax and wane. That treasure is our Savior. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

Pursue your Lord as your greatest treasure because he sees you the same way. You are the treasure Jesus desires the most. Jesus fills his heart with you! He did not give you part of himself; he gave his whole self. He stopped at nothing to claim you as his own, going so far as to give up his greatest treasure for you: his life. Because of his sacrifice, you now have the treasure of eternal life that will never spoil or fade and a hope that can never be broken or destroyed.

So when blessings grow and shrink throughout life, you can bow before your Lord in worship, saying, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21).