Where’s your heart?

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The secret of happiness lies in the accumulation of wealth that comes from a loving heart. Jesus’ teaching many times shows the human wisdom that is characteristic of the wisdom tradition of Israel. Already in Proverbs we read, “Do not be anxious to be rich and restrain your ingenuity” (Prov 23:4).

In another place, when a young man asks him what he must do to be perfect, Jesus replies, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Mt 19:21). The only wealth that will never be lost is the love that each of us has invested during the time we have been given. St. John of the Cross said that at the end of our lives we will be judged by our love, that is, by our concrete commitment to love and service to God and our neighbors.In this Gospel passage, however, the Lord does not call us to give up the natural human tendency to accumulate wealth in order to prepare wisely for the future by saving some money for a time when we will need it. Rather, he insists on the kind of wealth we are to accumulate: heavenly treasures.If it is true that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”, the opposite statement is also true: “where your heart is, there you lay up your treasure”. Therefore, from time to time it helps to reflect on where our heart is, how we spend our time, what our concerns are. We become aware of whether we are only in our own things, or whether there is room in them for others. Whether the reason for our existence is generous service to God and people. This is how St. Josemaría explained the secret of happiness: ‘What is needed to achieve happiness is not a comfortable life, but a heart in love’ (Beard, para. 795).