Matthew 6:21 — “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
In our Financial Peace University class, we’ve been learning to make a budget—a simple but powerful way to see where every dollar goes. It’s amazing what happens when you begin tracking your spending.
Take the average American couple, for example. Together they spend about $10 a day on coffee or soft drinks. That’s $300 a month, $3,600 a year, and if they kept that habit up between ages 25 and 65, they’d have spent $144,000. If that money were wisely invested instead, it would likely make them millionaires.
A budget doesn’t lie—it shows you what you value most. As the old preachers used to say, “Show me your checkbook, and I’ll show you your heart.”
A Kingdom Investment Plan
Jesus said, “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.” (Matthew 6:19–20)
If we can discipline ourselves financially to invest for retirement, why not invest for eternity? Imagine if that same couple gave $10 a day toward missions—the spread of the gospel, the planting of churches, the translation of Scripture, or the feeding of the hungry in Jesus’ name.
By the time they were 65, they would be “missions millionaires.” Not in earthly wealth, but in eternal reward. Every soul reached, every church built, every life changed through their giving would be part of their heavenly investment portfolio.
God’s Kind of Wealth
Money is not evil—it’s a tool. But it’s a temporary one, meant for eternal purposes. Randy Alcorn said, “Money and possessions should be viewed as God’s provision for our good, the good of others, and His glory.”
Jesus told of the rich fool who hoarded wealth but lost his soul overnight. He wasn’t condemned for having possessions but for living as though those possessions were his god. Contrast that with Zacchaeus, who, after meeting Christ, declared that he would give half his goods to the poor. Jesus responded, “This day is salvation come to this house.”
When revival touches a person’s heart, it also touches their wallet. In Luke 3, John the Baptist told the repentant crowds to share their coats and food. In Acts 19, the believers in Ephesus burned their occult books—worth 50,000 pieces of silver! Why? Because their hearts had changed kingdoms.
Seeking First the Kingdom
When we live for God’s kingdom, our priorities shift. We realize that everything we own is on loan. We begin to give, not out of guilt, but out of gratitude—knowing that true wealth is measured not by what we keep, but by what we give away for Christ’s sake.
Paul told Timothy: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God… That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate.” (1 Timothy 6:17–18)
Whether we have much or little, we can all be rich toward God.
A Millionaire’s Mindset
The goal of a Christian budget isn’t simply financial freedom—it’s spiritual focus. When you write down where your money goes, you’re writing down what matters to you. And when you give toward the gospel, you’re saying, “My heart belongs to God’s kingdom.”
So, as you budget your coffee money, your car payment, your grocery bill—budget for heaven too. Invest in eternity. Become a missions millionaire.
Because someday, when you stand before Christ, you’ll discover that the best investment you ever made wasn’t in the stock market—but in the souls of men and women who heard the gospel because you gave.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26)