Treasures And Worry

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.

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 important 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.
(Matthew 6 - Jesus Christ)

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1.  Always live in view of eternity - don't get wrapped up here.  This isn't it.  This is a testing field to see who will trust God as He has indicated we should, and who will try to be their own god.  Most will fail the test, but multitudes will succeed.  First, make sure your soul is saved (John 3) - then, allow the saved soul to triumph in the power of Christ (Romans 7).  This particular fight is how God grows us up.  It isn't fun, but it is necessary and unavoidable (James).

The sins of Eden were: not really trusting God, not really trusting that God was operating from the best motives, allowing an outside influence to damage the trust and obedience that are God's due, and trying to be one's own god and grabbing the reigns of one's own life rather than submitting to the Lord.  And all this for the purpose of self advancement in direct contradiction to what God had commanded.  Seeking to be the captain of one's own fate is a death sentence.  Don't do it.  Distrusting God is a death sentence.  Don't do it.

Having stuff is okay.  Your stuff having you is not okay.  If you can survey your earthly existence and you know you could walk away from it for the sake of Christ (and the idea of doing it 'for Christ' is critical - this is not generic self denial.  Destitute selfishness and Godly selflessness are not the same), then you truly have no earthly treasure because you have found heavenly treasure.


2.  People are much more valuable than animals to God.  How you feel about this is a good barometer of your spiritual health.  Some feel they can treat animals any way they want.  This is unGodly and is also a barometer of one's spiritual health.  God says: 

A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.
Proverbs 12:10

Are you being righteous or cruel?  The dominion God gave us over creation is a position of power and care.  It is not a position of power and careless or indifferent brutality.  The first is like God.  The second is like Satan.  Choose your God.

We have an oddity in America today where it seems the needs of animals are sometimes placed over the needs of people.  That attitude does not come from God.  Owning and loving pets is great (my house is a zoo), but being unable (or unwilling) to love your fellow human made in God's image indicates that you don't have God's love inside of you (or are suppressing it), which means you don't have Christ inside of you (or you are disobedient), which means that when you die everything will not be all right, and you will not go to Heaven to be with the Father (or you will make it as one barely plucked out of the fire).  Stop that and fix it.  If you aren't saved, then surrender to Christ and die to yourself so you can live.  If you are saved, then remember what you are in Christ - the unlimited power that Christ desires to exert through you, and slip back off the throne and let God do His work.

Daily, give up yourself (Matt 16:24-26), place your faith in Christ (John 6:28-29), and let God change you into the person He wants you to be (1st John).  The picture of a Christian in 1st John is of a fully mature Christian, and that can take a short amount of time (like Stephen in Acts), or it can take a lifetime (The Apostle John).  But you should at least be on the right road.  If progress is slow, stop rebelling - stop bowing up at God. 

Loving others does not mean approving of their actions, and it does not insulate them from justice and punishment, even death at the hands of God instituted government and ideas, such as just war.  The God Who commanded we love our neighbor is the same God who instituted the death penalty for murder (Gen 9:6).  He is the same God who allows death in the line of valid self defense and the defense of others (Exodus 22:2-3).  Loving our neighbor means loving and considering them as we love and consider ourselves.  It means having their best interests at heart and working towards that task when we see a need and are equipped to address it.  God doesn't demand that we give up our own necessities, but He does demand that we give out of the surplus He has provided us.  The most important need anyone has is to have saving faith in Jesus Christ.  Not food, not clothes, not shelter.  Seek ye first the kingdom of God, then the rest.  But truly, some are in such crisis that they cannot hear.  So a meal, clothes, and shelter for the antecedent purpose of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the communication that those things come from Christ because He loves them?  That works.


3.  If you claim to have put your trust in God, don't worry.  Worry indicates not really trusting God, not trusting Him to do what He promised, or forgetting Who He is and who you are.  It can be really, really hard to let go - especially when you have a family and are 'in charge'.  Pray for peace and increased faith.  God answers.  It usually takes the increasingly intense form of asking, seeking, and knocking - but God answers.  Show Him you are serious.  As our ancient brothers and sisters in Christ said:  wrestling with God is a violence in which He delights.


4.  God, and the pursuit of Him, must always come first.  It is always job #1.  When that is done, all else that is truly necessary falls into place.  Make sure your list of 'what is necessary' matches God's to achieve the best results.