God’s Approval (Matt. 6:1-4): Jesus teaches us to seek the approval of God rather than that of men. Humans naturally hunger for attention, acceptance, and approval. This is basic to how children behave with their parents. They unabashedly demand, “Look at me! Look at me!” because their little hearts find assurance, security, and peace when they know they have their parents’ affections. So it is also in the spiritual realm. When children of God have over them the happy countenance of their heavenly Father, their souls are also assured, secure, and at peace. Jesus calls us to guard against our natural tendency toward human approval, because this robs us of the great spiritual blessing of the Father’s relational reward. His happy countenance (favor, love, and pleasure) was Jesus’ experience on earth and it is our foretaste of heaven.[1]
Heavenward Heart (Matt. 6:19-21): Our hearts follow where our treasures go. With this in mind, Jesus teaches us the resounding wisdom of Scripture[2] that we are to store up treasures in heaven and not on earth. Furthermore, the Lord warns us the dangers of greed.[3] The love of money is psychotic. It drains a man of spiritual sanity and convinces him he's doing the right and sensible thing, all the while his spiritual senses are becoming increasingly dull, numb, and callous until finally he has replaced the worship of God with his unrelenting devotion to his wealth (6:24). Jesus’ concern is the condition of our hearts (Prov. 4:23). He calls us to a practice of hearty giving to the Lord (Prov. 3:9; 1 Chron. 29:14) to heal our hearts and turn them heavenward.