Matthew 6:19-34
Monday, 04 March 2024
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…” -Matthew 6:25
How often we end up worrying about everything in our lives- our future, children, health and finances! Every little thing around us causes us to “WORRY.” In today’s Scripture, one of Jesus’ first sermons, He tells us thrice, not to worry as we can do nothing by worrying. Jesus tells those in His Kingdom, to let go of three worldly practices and apply two Kingdom principles that would help them overcome the worries of this life. This call is universal- for every believer, who has made Him Lord and Saviour of their lives.
What has filled your heart? [Vs.19-21]- Like squirrels who store up nuts for winter, what causes us to keep storing up wealth for ourselves? It’s just the WORRY that we would not have enough for the future. So our hearts are incited to that one cause- ‘MAKE MORE MONEY.’ But Jesus calls us to store up treasure not on earth but in heaven, because He knows that a political or economic instability would cause us to lose all that we have stored up over the years. So He tells us to give our hearts’ cares to Him for He would meet all our needs (Phil. 4:19), because He owns a cattle on a thousand hills (Ps. 50:10), and He would not withhold any good thing from those whose walk is blameless (Ps. 84:11).
What has caught your eyes? [Vs.22-23]- It is said, “the eyes are the windows to your soul.” If this is true we need to make every effort to guard our eyes because the world around with its glitz and glamour has much to offer us. Everything looks appealing to the eye! But how it influences us is what matters here. That’s what happened to Eve in the garden: ‘she saw that the fruit was pleasing to her eye’ (Gen. 3:6). Her pursuit of that one happiness brought her deep pain, worry and insecurity. We like her, could be running after worldly things to gain a few dollars or a better lifestyle that someone else has, thus getting entangled in a rat race in ‘pursuit of happiness!’ Has this darkness snuffed out the Light of True Contentment from your life?
Where is your strength spent? [Vs. 24] Psalm 90:10 says: “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” Knowing how long we may live, what are we spending our energy on? Is it for God or for Gratification of the self? Jesus warns us here that we cannot serve two masters. Has “money become god” that it has resulted in controlling every area of our life?
Knowing that we would become broken and empty if we follow this pattern of life behaving like people who do not know Him (V.32), Jesus now calls us to do 2 things that would enable us to remain calm and composed in the face of life’s challenges:
1. Seek His Kingdom 2. Seek His Righteousness [ V.33]
This means we soak ourselves in living entirely for God and doing things for God in His way. If we follow this principle, Jesus says we will never worry about missing out anything in life. HE says He will take care of all that concerns you and me, just as He does for the birds and the lilies of the field! Is there anything more to ask for in life?
Thought for the Day: “No one can pray and worry at the same time.” -Max Lucado
Listen: 'His eye is on the sparrow'