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At a time of economic challenges and inflation, how easy it is to be consumed with anxiety about money and possessions. As his Sermon on the Mount moves on, Jesus exhorts us to view life and the material world from a bigger perspective.
In Matthew chapter 6, verse 19 he says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Jesus is not saying material things of themselves are evil. God created all good things for us to enjoy. Nor is he saying we should all sell up everything we have. His disciples didn’t. Rather, he was setting out a principle: things don’t last. They may rot, rust or be stolen. Jesus wants us to hold lightly to the things of the world. They aren’t permanent. John D. Rockefeller, industrialist and philanthropist, was perhaps the world’s first billionaire. When he died in 1937, a journalist asked his accountant, ‘How much did he leave?’ ‘Everything,’ was the reply.
Yet Jesus knows how much money and possessions can tug at our heart strings and dominate our thoughts. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” he says (Matthew 6:21). Once again he tackles heart health.
“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…” he advises (6:20). He wants us to learn that money and possessions are not just to serve our needs, but as a resource also to serve others. Putting God’s values and agenda at the top of our personal priorities, we won’t want to amass wealth, hoard money or acquire more real estate. Rather, we should look to ways we can put resources God gives us to use in his service.
Over the years it has been the generosity of Christians that has funded global, gospel-focused, disciple-making mission, together with medical centres and hospitals, places for God’s people to gather for worship and teaching, encouragement and compassion; as well as schools and universities.
In warning us of the way money and possessions can tug at our heart strings, Jesus goes on to urge us not to be anxious about food and clothing. In chapter 6, verse 25 we read: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.”
Jesus’s words have a contemporary ring, for no matter who we are, most of us will have been anxious about material issues – perhaps stress about the mortgage or the rent, medical bills or a tax bill, or even where the next meal may come from. Some may be anxious about their retirement fund. Psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers all speak of the physical and psychological consequences of stress from worry over material things.
“Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” Jesus asks. “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (6:25b-26)
When we first encounter these words we may be tempted to respond, ‘Jesus, you can’t be serious!’ But consider the logic of his words. He is saying that to be preoccupied with the basics of human life – food and clothing – is to undervaluehuman worth. “Are we not of more of more value than the birds? To be anxious about material things is to be blind to what makes our existence so special and precious – our capacity for relationship with our creator.
Jesus continues, “And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith?” (6:27-31)
None of us can add to our length of life. In fact, the irony is that worry about our lifespan can shorten it. And in the same way we cannot add to our lifespan by worrying, so we cannot guarantee success in all our affairs. There are too many variables outside our control.
Furthermore, God does not work a fresh miracle each day to provide for the birds of the air or the flowers of the field. Rather he provides for them in ways that are consistent with the nature he has given to each: birds have beaks to forage for food and a digestive system to make use of it; flowers have a biochemical structure to benefit from the sunlight, the soil and the rain. ‘If God has taken so much trouble to provide for these elements of creation, that are so transitory, how much more trouble will he take with you?’ Jesus is saying. ‘After all, you are the pinnacle of God’s creation, destined to live forever.’
Jesus reminds us here that God continues to sustain the necessary environment for us to find the materials for food and clothing. Anxiety about our material needs puts blinders on our eyes and ignores God’s goodness and grace.
It is tempting to think that this is pie in the sky talk. But it isn’t. God sustains environments so that our needs can be met: he provides the soil for the seed, the sun and the rain for growth, and the human skill to harvest the food we need. It’s one reason it’s good to give thanks before a meal.
What then about the starving millions? All the indicators are that there are sufficient food resources in the world to provide for every mouth. Tragically human sinfulness, corrupt regimes, selfishness and the distribution of resources, prevent proper food distribution.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” Jesus exhorts (6:33). What is more important: money and possessions, or God? If our answer is ‘God’, can we say we trust him to supply our needs? ‘Seek first God’s kind and generous rule, his goodness and mercy. We have everything to gain when we do.
Some who read or hear these words will have young children. What will you teach them about the place of money and possessions as they grow up? What will your example be to them? Will you give them everything they ask for? Will you teach them more about making money or about Jesus Christ – what it means to know him, to love and honor him? Jesus wants us to know him and enjoy him.
Prayer. Eternal God and Father, by whose power we are created and by whose love we are redeemed: guide and strengthen us by your Spirit, so that we may give ourselves to your service, and live this day in love to one another and to you; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
© John G. Mason
