MATTHEW 6:19-34

19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds

of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Connect

When we seek God's priorities, we receive His provisions.

The average American is exposed to five thousand commercial messages every day through the Internet, billboards, magazines, newspapers, movies, cable, and radio. All say the same thing: "You do not have enough. Keep working harder so you can acquire more and more and then you will be happy." Many people are buying into the lie. Today, many of us work sixty hours per week and sleep two hours less each night than we used to. As a result, we have a lot more stuff, but we are worrying more and enjoying less.

Jesus came to show us a better way. We are made to have God, and nothing else, at the center of our being. And when something else is there, whether success, influence, status, or wealth, nothing feels quite right. Dietrich Bonhoeffer expressed it well, "The life of discipleship can only be maintained so long as nothing is allowed to come between Christ and ourselves. . . . This is not to be taken as a philosophy of life or a moral law: it is the gospel of Jesus Christ" (The Cost of Discipleship).

How much would it take for you to have enough? Regardless of personal income, most people desire to have about 25 percent more. There is an endless quest for that which can never satisfy. The secret to contentment is knowing when you have enough.

Jesus had just finished teaching His disciples how to pray and about forgiveness and fasting. Then He went to the heart of the matter, which is the matter of the heart. He said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth" (Matt. 6:19). Why was He so adamant about it? He could look into the hearts of His followers and see that they were not completely committed to following Him. There were other things occupying their heart space.

They were much like people today, constantly adding more things, hoping with each acquisition to be satisfied. But Jesus knew we would never be satisfied with temporal things.

Observe

Jesus teaches the proper perspective about material things (Matt. 6:19-24).

Most of us like nice things. I certainly do. A few summers ago, I was invited to vacation with friends in Florida. I experienced a bit of the good life enjoyed by affluent America—a beautiful home with music piped into every room and a canopied, heated swimming pool framed by palm trees and blooming flowers—a virtual paradise of beauty and comfort.

And I was tempted! Who wouldn't like to have life easier and more comfortable, to escape the pressures and to enjoy? As the good life was dangled before me like the proverbial carrot, I began to desire it. And I knew that with a shift in my priorities, it was obtainable. But when the rose-tinted glasses fell from my eyes, my beautiful surroundings were not what I had perceived, but a cleverly designed trap to capture my allegiance and attention away from God. As the spider spins her web around the next meal, so Satan ensnares unsuspecting men and women, rendering them powerless for God.

Nice things can be seductive. They draw us away from God in baby steps. Enjoying the good life is not bad, but if it can take the edge off of our zeal and commitment to God, then it is deadly. As Anne Ortlund stated, "Let me love what God loves, hate what God hates, and use with ease what He gives me to use" (Disciplines of the Heart).

Jesus said you cannot serve two masters at the same time. It is impossible. You will naturally gravitate toward one or the other. If you are serving God, then you will live in obedience to Him and trust Him for all your needs. This does not mean that you will cease working for your livelihood; rather, it means you will quit worrying about the outcome. Your energy will be redirected toward positive and worthwhile endeavors, toward things that do not fade, cannot be stolen or used up, and never wear out. However, if your desire is for money, you will become increasingly earthly minded and self-centered. Little time will be left for God.

John Wesley gave a three-point outline for successful living, "Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can." The third point was the reason for the first two. Live frugally so you will have more to give God and others. And Wesley practiced what he preached. In today's economy, he earned the equivalent of 1.4 million U.S. dollars in his best year. He lived on 2 percent of his income and gave away 98 percent. During his lifetime, Wesley earned the equivalent of thirty million dollars, but when he died, left behind only a few miscellaneous coins and couple of silver spoons. The rest he gave away.

We should not be so attached to our possessions that they possess us. One of the best ways to be freed from enslavement to wealth and goods and status is to stop working so hard at accumulation and practice creative downsizing. Start giving it away. How about that college student who is preparing for the ministry? Or a struggling family that could use extra money to make ends meet? Do you really need that new boat? Can you drive your old car another year or two and give the saved money to someone without a car? Could you help send a teen on a mission trip and perhaps help change his or her life forever? Is it necessary to redecorate now, or could you send the money to help start a new church?

Relate

1. What are some common things in which people place their security?
2. How can you be financially responsible in this life, and still store up treasures for yourself in heaven?

Observe

Jesus teaches us to trust Him for all our needs (Matt. 6:25-34).

Robert Holmes tells of a friend who once expressed two fears. One fear was that if he did not slow down he would have a heart attack. The other fear was that if he didn't hurry up, he would not accomplish enough before he had a heart attack.

In this passage of Scripture, Jesus instructed us not to worry over the necessities of life. He said simply, "Do not do it. Do not spend valuable time worrying." He used two simple examples from nature to illustrate His point.

First He said, Look at the birds of the air. Learn by their example. As I write this lesson, it is spring and I'm listening to the birds in my backyard. They seem so happy to be getting ready for another season of nesting and raising their young. Nowhere do I see a bird sitting in the tree debating the ills of pollution and population explosion and a scarcity of food. I see no furrowed brow or obsessive frenzy. All I see is a flutter of activity as the robins, sparrows, and mockingbirds merrily gather whatever they might need for the present, believing tomorrow will also hold whatever they need. What a beautiful example of faith and trust.

Second, as Jesus glanced at the pristine beauty of the lilies, He remarked how effortless they bloomed, showing the majesty of their Creator. If God could take care of the lifecycle of a plant, would He not also take more care of His special creation—human beings? His promise to us is that He will supply our needs. Not our greed, but our needs.

Three times in this passage, Jesus said not to worry, and one time He asked, Why do you worry? Worry is a negative emotion that produces negative results:

• It can damage your health, causing infirmities from ulcers to heart attacks. Worry is the greatest cause of stress.
• When you worry, you are not trusting God. You are acting as if it all depends on you. That is a greater burden than God intended for you to carry.
• When you worry, you can become immobilized and rendered ineffective. But when you put your trust in God's providential care, the block is removed. Your energy is released for productivity and problem solving.

Relate

3. List some common things people worry about.
4. How does worrying affect the outcome of these things?
5. Using kingdom principles, how should you prioritize your life? What would you put first, second, and third?

Observe

The kingdom principle Jesus taught involves our priorities. He said, "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matt. 6:33). What things? Our daily food, shelter, and clothing—in other words, the necessities of life. If we position God at the center of our being, He has pledged to take care of our needs. When we stop striving, worrying, scrambling, and hustling and begin to reflect on His ability to supply our material needs, we will have the secret to contentment and a joy-filled life. This will result in the pleasant discovery that material things are still available to us, only now we realize they are given to meet our needs. Rather than things possessing us, we are free to enjoy all things.

Relate

...to you

What better time than the present to evaluate our priorities in how we spend our time, our talents, and our possessions? Are you giving God first place in your life? In this last week, try to account for and explain why, and how much time have you devoted to:

• your job?
• family time?
• worshiping God, praying, and reading the Bible?
• watching cable?
• hobbies and recreation?

A wealthy man died and someone inquired, "How much did he leave?" The answer came back, "All of it." Some day each one of us will also leave it all, and then how will we feel about how we spent our time and energy accumulating it? "First things first," Jesus said.

Bonus Interactive Learning Idea from the Wesley Bible Lesson Commentary

Taking It to the Street: Why Do We Buy?

Go to a local mall or shopping center as a group to do some people-watching. First, split into pairs and walk through the mall, paying close attention to two things: the feelings and behaviors you observe in the shoppers at the mall; and the advertisements, displays, or other avenues stores use to try to lure you inside.

After a set time, meet back together at the food court and share your observations over dinner. As you eat, take some time to talk about some of the deeper human issues revealed in our culture's obsession with shopping and buying. You could talk about questions like these:

• Which ads or displays struck you as the most obnoxious? Which were most appealing? Why?
• In your experience, does buying make you feel good? Does it make you feel deeply satisfied? Why or why not?
• What do ads and the idea of shopping promise to people? Are those promises fulfilled? Why or why not?

—from the Wesley Bible Lesson Commentary 2009-2010, a year's worth of
studies in Jeremiah-Daniel; Matthew; James; and Samuel/Kings/Chronicles

Go Deeper, Go Broader