“DO NOT STORE up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For 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 he 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 important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look 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? 27Who 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. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If 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? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Original Meaning
THE KEY SAYING of this section is Jesus’ famous imperative, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (6:33). It continues the overall priority and teaching of the SM. The preceding section (6:1–18) indicates the kind of religious life that Jesus’ disciples will experience in the public realm under the influence of the kingdom of heaven. Their “acts of righteousness” (6:1) brings congruency between the initial gift of positional righteousness by which they gained entrance to the kingdom of heaven (5:20) and their experiential growth in righteousness as they pursue the ultimate goal of the perfection of their heavenly Father (5:48). This section continues the teaching on the pursuit of kingdom righteousness (6:33), but here the spotlight is on the kind of personal interior life that Jesus’ disciples will experience in their everyday world.
On the one hand, Jesus warns against the everyday concerns about wealth (6:19–24) and worry (6:25–34), which can rob disciples of the kingdom’s priority in their personal lives. On the other hand, he teaches how his disciples can properly live with the priority of the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, including their ideals, vision, priorities, and security.
Choose Your Master: God or Wealth (6:19–24)
IN THE PURSUIT of the perfection of the Father (5:48), Jesus’ disciples will encounter a number of everyday concerns that have the potential to deter them from undivided loyalty to the kingdom and its righteousness. The first one he discusses is wealth.
Two treasures of the heart (6:19–21). Material wealth was important to the people of Israel since it was often seen as a sign of God’s blessing and the reward for obedience to him. One ancient rabbi said:
A man should always teach his son a cleanly [or easy] craft, and let him pray to him to whom riches and possessions belong, for there is no craft wherein there is not both poverty and wealth; for poverty comes not from a man’s craft, nor riches from a man’s craft, but all is according to his merit. (m. Qidd. 4.14)
But Jewish writers also regularly warned the people that wealth is not the final determination of one’s spiritual standing before God.1 Wealth could be acquired illegitimately, and all too often the wicked are the ones who prosper. Jeremiah laments: “You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?” (Jer. 12:1). First Enoch speaks of the ultimate destruction of those who accumulate wealth illegitimately: “For your wealth shall not endure but it shall take off from you quickly for you have acquired it all unjustly, and you shall be given over to a great curse” (1 En. 97:8–10).
The accumulation of wealth for its own sake is deceptive, because one can find in material treasure a false sense of security or an inaccurate assessment of one’s spirituality. So Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” The term behind the negative imperative “do not store up” is thesaurizo, which is related to the noun “treasure” (thesauros). The wordplay can be rendered woodenly, “Do not treasure up for yourselves treasure on earth.” “Treasure” represents the accumulation of what is valuable.
But those things that some people value are subject to the destructive effects of life in a fallen world, “where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” The moth was commonly recognized as a destroyer of the most basic materials of life.2 The finest garments could be destroyed by a little devouring insect. The term “rust” is a general term for “consuming,” which points not only to a destructive action on metals but also a deterioration of a more wide-ranging nature. It destroys a variety of materials—crops, vines, and even teeth.3 The most valuable possessions are subject to being consumed. The kind of “thief” Jesus has in mind here robs from the rich to serve himself. Moth, rust, and thieves represent those forces that cause earthly treasures to diminish in value and finally be destroyed.
Rather than collecting material valuables in this life, Jesus says, “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” He does not identify these treasures, but the idea of storing up good works before God was prominent in Israel’s history. Sirach exhorts, “Lose your silver for the sake of a brother or a friend, and do not let it rust under a stone and be lost. Lay up your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High, and it will profit you more than gold” (Sir. 29:10–11 NRSV). Jesus may have in mind the “acts of righteousness” of the preceding section—giving to the poor, praying, and fasting—or any other valuable deeds that his disciples perform. Paul refers to the gold and silver of the Christian’s work for the kingdom that will be rewarded at the Day of Judgment (1 Cor. 3:12–15).
But the contrast of “treasures on earth” with “treasures in heaven” more importantly implies a contrast of values. Jesus goes beyond good works to focus on the heart, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The “heart” represents the core of a person’s being, the real inner person, the causative source of a person’s spiritual, emotional, and psychological life. What a person values is driven by the nature of a person’s heart (see 5:8, 28).
Jesus has already indicated that the heart is the source of our good or evil deeds (5:28; cf. 15:18–19). That thought carries here as well, but with the additional element that whatever the disciple has placed as his or her highest value is a gauge of the condition of the heart.4 The righteous value must be God himself. Rewards are important, but the greatest treasure in heaven is the Father. If Jesus’ disciples keep their hearts fully focused on the Father in heaven, then all other treasures of this world will pale in comparison. This will set a trajectory for healthy discipleship, including one’s priorities, motives, righteous deeds, ambitions, security, personal self-worth, and relationships.
Two eyes of the heart (6:22–23). These difficult verses must be connected to the preceding (6:19–21) and following (6:24) passages to make sense of them—the disciple must make a choice between competing treasures. Jesus continues the theme of “treasure” by addressing the “eye” as the conduit to the inner person, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.” While the “good” eye and the “bad” eye can be understood physically to speak of a healthy and diseased eye, we should follow the metaphorical meaning here. Some Greek and Jewish writers spoke of the eye as a lamp that contained its own source of light that shone outward to illuminate objects; this indicated the vitality of life in a person (e.g., eyes become dimmed; Gen. 27:1; 48:18).5 But here Jesus uses the eye in a different metaphorical sense, as a lamp that illumines a person’s inner life.
There was a close connection between the heart and the eye in Jewish literature.6 By using the symmetry in this passage, the “good” eye can either mean a “generous” eye, a person who is ready to give away one’s wealth,7 or it can mean “single” in the sense of singleness of purpose or undivided loyalty.8 The latter is more in line with the preceding and following sayings. Since the heart is the true repository of treasure, Jesus now indicates that when the eye focuses on something of value, it becomes the conduit that fills the heart with what has been focused upon. If the eye is good, it is the conduit that allows the heart to be filled with the light of God’s treasure.
But there is also an evil eye: “But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” The word “bad” here connotes moral evil.9 The “evil eye” in the ancient world is one that enviously covets what belongs to another; it is a greedy or avaricious eye.10 This expression occurs similarly in 20:15, where the literal expression “evil eye” indicates envy (cf. NIV “envious”). The parallelism here indicates once again singleness of vision, but it is an evil vision. If a disciple’s eyes are fixed on earthly treasure as her or his value, personal significance, and earthly security, then the heart will likewise be full of darkness.11 When we focus on something evil, the eye becomes the conduit by which evil fills the inner person.
Two masters of the heart: God and money (6:24). Two treasures (6:19–21) and two eyes (6:22–23) prepare for the climax about choosing between two masters: “No one can serve two masters.” The word for “master” is kyrios, which has sufficient flexibility that it can indicate a landowner (18:25; 20:8), a master in a typical teacher-disciple relationship (10:25), Jesus as Son of Man, who is Lord of the Sabbath (12:8), Jesus as the arriving messianic king (21:3), the Messiah as David’s Lord (22:44), and the returning Son of Man as Lord (24:42–44). The usage here indicates a general principle on both the level of commitment to an earthly master as well as to God as one’s ultimate Master. The term for “serve” is douleuo, indicating the work of a slave, not an employee. One might be able to work for two employers, but a slave is sole property of one master, which implies an exclusive owner who demands exclusive service.
Loyalty to one’s master is extreme: “Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” The biblical notion of “hate” and “love” understands them to be patterns of life, not simple emotional reactions. “Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies” (Ps. 139:21–22; cf. Matt. 5:43; 1QS 1.9–11). This prepares for Jesus’ radical summons of unconditional commitment to him, to the point that one must hate, or completely reject, anything that hinders attachment to him, and love him, or give oneself completely to him (cf. Matt. 10:34–39; 12:30; Luke 14:26).
The metaphors on choosing between masters culminate in the saying, “You cannot serve both God and Money.” There can be no divided loyalties with God. Jesus personifies wealth or possessions of all kinds as a rival god, “Mammon.” This word is the Greek mamona, from a Hebrew/Aramaic word mamon, meaning “wealth, riches, property.” The temptation to worship the god of materialism was well known in Judaism. A heart-rending confession from the second century B.C. Testament of Judah (19:1–2) states: “My children, love of money leads to idolatry, because once they are led astray by money, they designate as gods those who are not gods. It makes anyone who has it go out of his mind. On account of money I utterly lost my children.” The writer goes on to say, “The prince of error blinded me” (19:4), pointing to Satan’s activity in using material idolatry to lead astray the children of God.
Greed and covetousness are favorite snares of the evil one, so commands and warnings against greed and covetousness are common in the Old Testament (e.g., Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21; Job 31:24–25; Ps. 49; Eccl. 2:1–11), in Judaism (Sir. 11:18–19; T. Jud. 18–19; 1 En. 97:8–10), and in the early church (Col. 3:5; 1 Tim. 6:10; 2 Peter 2:3). Ultimately, there is only one choice—service, love, and devotion to God or to Satan. Loving God is not merely a matter of the emotions but of serving and giving oneself to him completely—heart, soul, mind, and strength (see Matt. 19:16–22; 22:37).
Choose Your Provider: God or Worry (6:25–34)
BUT THE QUESTION might be, “If I choose God as my Master and place my value and worth and source of security in heaven, who will take care of my daily needs on earth?” So Jesus directs the attention to the issue of “worry.” In particular, this Master will take care of the basic needs of Jesus’ disciples so that they can give attention to more important issues of life, especially summed up in the expression, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (6:33).
The principle about worry (6:25). The principle about worry is expressed in the imperative, “Do not worry [merimnao] about your life.” Sometimes merimnao expresses an appropriate feeling of intense concern and care for something, such as the Lord’s work (1 Cor. 7:32) or someone’s welfare (Phil. 2:20).12 In this case we can render this word in English as “concern.” Concern is appropriate when it is directed toward right things, kept within bounds, and causes us to do our proper duty. However, merimnao also expresses intense feelings of anxiety about issues of life, such as what to say when arrested for preaching the gospel (Matt. 10:19), about many less important things (Luke 10:41), or about the pressing daily matters of life. Paul uses this meaning when he says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil. 4:6). Worry is inappropriate or wrong when it is misdirected, is in wrong proportion, or indicates a lack of trust in God. It is this latter sense that Jesus addresses here.
Jesus then directs a question to his disciples that assumes an immediate answer and response: “Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” The implied natural answer should be, “Yes, of course my life and my body are more important than food and clothing!” And the natural response to the argument should be, “If God has given me life and a body, he certainly will give me food and clothing.”
But the poor had difficulty getting their eyes off such basic necessities, since it wasn’t always easy to supply them. Jesus is speaking to people familiar with life’s daily struggles. Much of their daily routine was spent trying to get enough supplies for day-to-day existence. The poor especially did not have extensive supplies, so that the question of what one would eat tomorrow was a real one, especially with the vagaries of seasonal famine, fire, or flood. Thus, Jesus is forcing even the poorest among them to agree that they must focus on the more important issues of life. For the poor, this is a radical challenge, because if they become unconcerned about supplying each day’s food and clothing, their families could be in immediate trouble. Jesus calls for them to live in the immediate challenge of daily trusting God’s care in everyday situations.
The example of life and food (6:26–27). The first reason Jesus gives as to why his disciples should not worry is the Father’s care for his creatures: “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.” Birds expend energy in doing what is natural, such as building nests and collecting food for their young, yet it is actually God who feeds and clothes them (cf. Ps. 104:10–16; Pss. Sol. 5:8–10). The point is that when Jesus’ disciples are responsible to carry out the proper ways of life as ordained by God, God is faithful to carry out his end of the order.
In a common style of arguing “from the lesser to the greater,” also regularly used by the rabbis, Jesus queries with another rhetorical question, “Are you not much more valuable than they?” Humans are the crown and ruler of God’s creation (Ps. 8:3–8), and their needs will receive appropriate attention from God. Jesus advances the argument with further rhetorical questions, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” The NIV has a good rendering of a curious expression in Greek, which reads, “add one forearm length [pechys] to his age/stature [helikia].” Pechys is a standardized unit of measure the typical length of a forearm, or about eighteen inches, called a “cubit.”13 The term helikia usually designates a measure of age or maturity (e.g., Heb. 11:11), but occasionally it is used for physical stature (e.g., Luke 2:52; 19:3). The present context makes no sense to refer to adding physical height, but instead indicates a measure of time of life. Worrying cannot extend the duration of one’s life.
The example of clothing (6:28–30). Jesus then gives the second reason why his disciples are not to worry: “See how the lilies of the field grow.” This expression draws to mind God’s provision in nature for flowers growing wild, which probably surrounded Jesus, the disciples, and the crowd as he spoke. Even today, red and purple anemones with crowning ten-inch stalks, along with blue irises, grow wild on the hillside above the Sea of Galilee.14 The beautiful flowers surrounding Jesus elicit a striking contrast to Solomon’s royal robes: “Not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” Solomon’s wealth prompted the visit from the Queen of Sheba and his life became a proverbial success story (see 1 Kings 10:1–29; 2 Chron. 9:1–28). Yet God’s provision for wild flowers causes them to be more beautiful, if one would only look.
The emphasis shifts slightly to regard lilies as the clothing of “the grass of the field” (6:30). The green grass of spring when cut, dried, and bundled was a natural source of fuel for fire ovens and was a common biblical metaphor for dramatic changes of fortune and for human frailty and transience.15 If God’s sustaining care extends to such a transitory part of his creation, “will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” Those with eyes of effective faith will see the beauty of God’s creation in contrast to human efforts at splendor and will learn daily how to follow God’s guidance and how to trust in his gracious provision. “Little faith” (oligopistos) is a favorite expression of Jesus, found mainly in this Gospel.16 It is only directed to Jesus’ disciples, indicating that “little faith” is not absence of faith but deficiency of faith.
The Father’s interest in all things (6:31–32). The third reason why the disciples are not to worry is because that is the pattern of unbelievers who do not understand the Father’s care: “For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” The term “pagans [ethne],” rendered elsewhere in Matthew as “the nations” (12:21; 25:32; 28:19), commonly designates non-Jews or Gentiles. Here, the emphasis is on those who operate outside of God’s values. Those with faith in God’s provision will not worry and will reject the pursuits and values of unbelievers. An absence of inappropriate anxiety derives from an appropriate understanding of God’s provision and his creatures’ responsibilities and priorities of life.17 Morris comments, “This attitude removes people from preoccupation with their own worldly success; it discourages the wealthy and the comfortable from concentrating on their own success and the poor and uncomfortable from concentrating on their own misery.”18
The proper priority (6:33). Jesus’ reasoning culminates in the famous directive, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.” This climactic admonition draws the listeners back to the key verse of the sermon, where Jesus declared, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (5:20). The use of the imperative “seek” does not mean to look for something not present, for Jesus has already announced the arrival of the kingdom. In this context it means that his disciples are to make the kingdom of heaven the center of their continual, daily priorities. They have already entered the kingdom of heaven and are to live with that reality, drawing on God’s ordering of their daily lives.19 In doing so they will “seek . . . his righteousness.”
The conjunction of righteousness and the kingdom maintains a special theme in the SM (5:6, 10, 20; 6:1). It does not mean to pursue salvation, because the disciples’ entrance to the kingdom secured them that kind of “imputed” righteousness (5:20). It means that they are to pursue their experiential growth of “imparted” righteousness, which is to pursue the increasing perfection of the Father (5:48) through their practice of “acts of righteousness” (6:1). The theological articulation of these themes becomes a major focus of the early church, especially Paul. But their foundation is laid in Jesus’ teaching here. When his disciples pursue God’s kingdom and his righteousness in their daily priorities and activities, they will have all of their needs met by their ever-caring, ever-watching heavenly Father—“and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Eliminating worry (6:34). Having given the climactic imperative to guide every area of the disciples’ lives, Jesus returns to the specific issue—worry about God’s daily care for their needs. If God’s ordering of the disciples’ lives includes his provision for all of their daily needs, “therefore” one certainly should not worry about tomorrow. Learned reliance on God’s care for present needs will cause his disciples to develop trust in him for their future needs. The two expressions in this verse, “for tomorrow will worry about itself” and “each day has enough trouble of its own,” reiterate the same basic truth. All the worry in the world today can do nothing about the cares and problems of tomorrow. As disciples learn to let God care for them today, including their “daily bread” (6:11), they will become increasingly secure in his care for them tomorrow, regardless of whatever evil may come.
Since no exact parallel to this maxim exists,20 Jesus’ saying apparently became proverbial, because James gives an admonition that appears to draw on this truth (James 4:13–15). Jesus’ disciples don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but the Father does. It takes a great deal of worry from us when we live that way daily.
Bridging Contexts
LIFE IN THE ancient world. Everyday life in the cities of the ancient world was far different than even the most difficult circumstances of urban life in the modern world. With limited water and means of sanitation, the incredible density of humans and animals is beyond our imagining.
Tenement cubicles were smoky, dark, often damp, and always dirty. The smell of sweat, urine, feces, and decay permeated everything. Outside, on the street, it was little better—mud, open sewers, manure and crowds. In fact, human corpses—adult as well as infant—were sometimes just pushed into the street and abandoned.21
Matthew writes to a community of believers who live in this everyday world, probably in a urban setting. For the most part, they are probably among the poor. They look out from their dismal, everyday existence and try to figure out how they can get by for the next day, how they can get ahead in any way, and how they can supply for a future of their children. They may think that the world of Jesus’ original ministry in rural Galilee offered a more idyllic setting, with its rolling green hills, open blue skies, and expansive boundaries.
But life in both settings is hard. The people to whom Jesus is speaking in the SM may have included some of the wealthy, but the vast majority of them are peasants, who live most of their lives hand to mouth, eking out a living from the Galilean countryside. What they can produce from the land goes for food supplies until the next harvest, feed for their work animals, extra seed for next year’s crops, and enough to sell or barter for other necessities. But whether they work their own land or are tenant farmers, they are required to pay any surplus as taxation to the dominant group of rulers, who use it to underwrite their own high standard of living.22 Not surprisingly, one of the significant phenomena of this time period was the rise of revolutionary movements that sought to elevate the plight of the poor by overturning the backbreaking grip that the wealthy landowners had on the economic and political life of the region.23
Negatively, Jesus warns against the everyday trouble about wealth (6:19–24) and worry (6:25–34) that can rob disciples of the kingdom’s priority in their personal lives. Placing trust in earthly treasures is foolish and will not bring true security, because the things of the world are perishable. If their minds are directed at the same time toward earthly and heavenly things, their view will actually end up distracting, confusing, and darkening their inner life. It is impossible to be God’s servants and the servants of Mammon at the same time, because desire for wealth and worry about daily needs actually supplants God.
Positively, Jesus teaches how his disciples can live securely in the middle of their daily difficulties. The way for them to attend to their personal life is to prioritize their values so that nothing in this world supplants God as their Master (6:19–24) and Provider (6:25–34). This is accomplished overall as they “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (6:33). If their base of security is in earthly treasures, then no matter how much “concern” they have, they will never be able to satisfy their needs. If they place their security in their heavenly Father, he will naturally take care of all of their needs.
Avoiding extremes. A proper perspective on wealth and worry will help us to avoid some distressing extremes. (1) One extreme is to deny all material concern to the point of asceticism, such as that found in some quarters of Judaism.24
(2) Another extreme is to think that making provision for future physical needs demonstrates a lack of faith. Common sense tells us that God’s regular pattern for his people has always been responsible stewardship of resources to care for daily needs. For example, a significant part of God’s law regulated life so that there would be abundant provisions to supply offerings and sacrifices (e.g., Ex. 22–23). The sluggard is the one who expects to be supported by his neighbor, so he must learn from the ant the common sense of gathering during the summer for the needs of the winter (Prov. 6:6; 30:25). God’s orchestration of Joseph’s life included advising Pharaoh to store up grain for future use during the seven years of drought, which God used to save Joseph’s family (Gen. 42:33–36; 45:7). And responsible parents save up for their children (2 Cor. 12:14). God want us to use our common sense to provide for future needs as one means by which he maintains his place as Master and Provider of his people.
(3) A third extreme is to think that Jesus is teaching that it is a lack of faith to engage in business and commerce for the purpose, at least in part, of making a profit. Again, God’s ordering of life for his people includes wise business sense, as the commendation of the virtuous wife teaches (Prov. 31:10–31). Jesus commends wise business and banking practices in the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14–30). James appears to draw on Jesus’ statement in Matthew 6:34 by setting a right balance for wise business planning: “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15). We cannot foresee the future, but God does, so the wise businessperson seeks God’s will.
(4) A final extreme is to think that all wealthy people have bowed the knee to Money as their God and cannot be Jesus’ disciples. As we noted, one sign of God’s blessing can be material wealth. Abraham was very wealthy (Gen. 13:2), yet he is called the friend of God (2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; James 2:23). After Job’s testing, the blessing of God on his life was his doubled prosperity (Job 42:10–15). At Zacchaeus’s conversion he was a wealthy tax collector, yet he gave away only half of what he had, promising to repay four times the amount he had cheated anyone, implying that he had plenty left over (Luke 19:2–10). And Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus who was wealthy (Matt. 27:57); he is an example of a disciple whom God allowed to keep his wealth so that he could provide privileged service to his Lord.
The key thing for all disciples is to have no other god—whether it is money or success or self—before Jesus as our Master and Provider as we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.
Contemporary Significance
A COUPLE OF well-known bumper stickers I’ve seen many times express the idolatry of the modern world: “He who dies with the most toys wins.” “You can’t take it with you.” According to the philosophy behind those maxims, this life and the afterlife have no real meaning, so make it your ambition to play hard and find your worth in the materialism and pleasure of this world.
Israel went into captivity in Babylon as a punishment for worshiping pagan idols (Jer. 25:1–11). While they never again succumbed as a nation to this form of idolatry once they returned from captivity, other forms of idolatry plagued them, such as serving the god of materialism, Mammon. We in the modern world may never consider bowing down to a pagan idol, but we must learn from Israel’s temptation to make materialism and its pleasure a very real god. Materialism is a rampant cancer that is now a worldwide temptation, which consequently produces untold worry in people as to how they will be able to maintain the kind of lifestyle they require.
The idol of materialism. There are several reasons why people accumulate “treasure” on earth.
• Security. We want to know that we are taken care of, so what brings us the greatest security of life and soul is to have material security.
• Personal worth, esteem, and value. Material possessions and wealth often indicate that people are successful in what they have done with their lives. We feel good about ourselves if we dress, drive, dine, and decorate well.
• Power. With wealth and material success, we believe that we can have and get and be what we want. Wealth gives us control over our own fate and over other people.
• Independence. With wealth I can be my own “god” and not rely on anyone else.
• Pleasure. With wealth we can indulge our every fantasy, whether it is the exotic vacation, the luxurious wedding, the finest dining, or the most decadent home.
The psalmist gives us a wise perspective on those who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of wealth and reverses the philosophy of the cliché bumper stickers.
Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,
when the splendor of his house increases;
for he will take nothing with him when he dies,
his splendor will not descend with him.
Though while he lived he counted himself blessed—
and men praise you when you prosper—
he will join the generation of his fathers,
who will never see the light of life.
A man who has riches without understanding
is like the beasts that perish. (Ps. 49:16–20)
The pursuit of material wealth is a feeble attempt to fill the dark void that can only be filled by a good eye fixed on Jesus as our sole Master and Provider. We will all do well to ask ourselves frequently, “What is the most valuable thing in my life?” And then we should evaluate where we have spent our time, what we have invested our life pursuing, and where we have spent our money. Good accounting—whether of time, relationships, or money—is a good gauge of our values.
Money, wealth, and possessions have at least three primary purposes in Scripture: (1) to give appropriate care for one’s own family and prevent them from becoming a burden to others (1 Thess. 4:11–12; 2 Thess. 3:6–15; 1 Tim. 5:8); (2) to help those who are in need, especially the family of faith (Prov. 19:17; Acts 11:27–30; Rom. 15:25–27; 2 Cor 8:1–15; Gal. 6:7–10; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:3–7); and (3) to encourage and support God’s work in spreading the gospel of the kingdom both at home and around the world (1 Cor. 9:3–14; Phil. 4:14–19; 1 Tim. 5:17–18). If we put Jesus at the center of our lives to serve and love him with all that we are and have, we will use appropriately all the blessings of life and avoid the modern idolatry of materialism.
The idolatry of worry. We probably do not think of worry as a form of idolatry, but it is when we allow it to take our eyes off of Jesus. We substitute despair, hopelessness, or fear in place of God and turn to our own efforts at trying to control our environment. This can be a harsh world, and worry about the outcome can consume us. A recent cover story in Time magazine provides evidence that anxiety as a biological, emotional, and psychological response to current national and world affairs is high. More than ever people are worrying themselves sick.25
I’ve often been struck by the way that mothers deal with these issues. The article posits this all-too-frequent scene:
It’s 4 a.m., and you’re wide awake—palms sweaty, heart racing. You’re worried about your kids. Your aging parents. Your 401K. Your health. Your sex life. Breathing evenly beside you, your spouse is oblivious. Doesn’t he—or she—see the dangers that lurk in every shadow? He must not. Otherwise, how could he, with all that’s going on in the world, have talked so calmly at dinner last night about flying to Florida for a vacation?26
Mothers have special concerns. As they carry their child during pregnancy, they have the concern of the birth itself and then the ongoing care of this fragile little blessing. They’re concerned about the healthy growth and the proper friends and influences; they think about whom their children will marry and whether they, as mothers, can handle all these responsibilities. Then they become concerned about their own failures as a mother, whether they give enough discipline and love, enough guidance and freedom, or appropriate reward and restriction. Of course, fathers are all involved in these same activities, but the special role of a mother often leads to more direct concern about the past and the future in raising their children.
While teaching for a short stint at another seminary, I heard Warren Wiersbe make this comment during a chapel message: “It is often said that we are continually being crucified between two thieves—the regrets of yesterday and the worries about tomorrow.”27 When a mother turns her eyes off Jesus, responsible concern often turns to the worry of despair, or fear, or hopelessness.
A woman in our neighborhood is having a significant bout with worry. Her children have all caused her a measure of grief, but they are basically good kids. Her husband is a hard-working man, but he is not a very good businessman. They have had significant financial problems in the past and are now considering bankruptcy. They are not believers, and worry has consumed her. She rarely sleeps through the night, she talks incessantly about the bleak outlook for their future, and she is now developing high blood pressure and heart problems. Her greatest need is to be able to let loose of the regrets about yesterday and relinquish her worries about tomorrow.
Max Lucado has written a little devotional book for mothers, and in it he has a selection cleverly entitled “Whaddifs and Howells: The Burden of Worry.” He asks what a mother may very well ask, “ ‘Whaddif I marry a guy who snores?’ ‘Howell we pay for our baby’s tuition?’ ”28 Commenting on Jesus’ statement in Matthew 6:34, Lucado uses a rendering, “God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” He goes on to give sound advice to mothers, especially focusing on the phrase “when the time comes”:
“I don’t know what I’ll do if my husband dies.” You will, when the time comes.
“When my children leave the house, I don’t think that I can take it.” It won’t be easy, but strength will arrive when the time comes.
The key is this: Meet today’s problems with today’s strength. Don’t start tackling tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow. You do not have tomorrow’s strength yet. You simply have enough for today.29
My wife and I are working with our young friend the anxious mother to help her find today’s strength in a relationship with Jesus. But Lucado’s advice is good for all of us. We have all probably at one time or another awakened at night fretting about a looming bill, or a teenager not yet home from a night out, or a pressing deadline at work. We have probably all wondered at times whether we will be able to handle the next phase of parenting or marriage. The popular secular song advises: “Don’t worry. Be happy.” We’d like to be happy, but the wishing won’t make it happen. The key to overcoming worry is to learn how to utilize God’s strength to accomplish what is set before us today, because today’s accomplishment is tomorrow’s lesson.
I believe that one of the most important ways of actually carrying this out is to learn to express regularly our gratitude to God for what he is doing, and has done, in preparation for relying on him tomorrow. A way of reversing the trend toward anxiety is to look around at what we have and what God has done and then say, “Thank you.” That is the theme of the heartfelt chorus “Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart,” which most of us have sung at one time or another.30 Whether we are weak or strong, poor or rich, Jesus’ teaching on wealth and worry is rooted firmly in what has done for us. He is our Master and Provider, the one who has given us kingdom life, kingdom priorities, and kingdom values, by which we can truly say, “Thank you.”