Matthew 6:19-34
“Don’t hoard
treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust
or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe
from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your
treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
22-23 “Your eyes are
windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your
body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your
body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life
you will have!
“You can’t worship
two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of
one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both.
“If you decide for
God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s
on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion.
There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to
your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the
birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the
care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
“Has anyone by fussing
in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time
and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead
of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the
wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design
quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby
alongside them.
“If God gives such
attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even
seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for
you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so
preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving.
People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you
know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative,
God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday
human concerns will be met.
“Give your entire
attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what
may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard
things come up when the time comes.
No comments:
Post a Comment