Here's a
good question. A
website follower wrote, “For some time
I have been discussing and studying
Matt. 6:25-34
regarding what the Lord promised to provide for the believer.
Taken literally, it seems to say that we are promised
food and clothes and thats it. Of course that is a great deal if
you do not have those things, but some argue that God has
also included much more as well. I believe this but
unfortunately, I can’t back this up with scripture.
Can you help?”
First, let's summarize the passage.
In Matt. 6:25 Jesus said “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?”
I think one thing He was telling us is
that we should eat to live, not live to eat. A sufficient
quantity of wholesome healthy food is really all we need.
What do we gain by over indulging in food and drink that
can actually shorten our life?
And as long as we have sufficient serviceable clothing,
what else do we need? What benefit is there in strutting around
like a peacock? Life
should be much more important to us than these things.
And we'll close with verses 31- 34.
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or
‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
For
the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them.
But seek first his
kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well.
Therefore do not worry
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
The first thing we can see here is that
life is far too important to be spent worrying about the future,
especially where the basic necessities are concerned.
And the second thing is if we'll focus on seeking God's
Kingdom and His righteousness He'll see that these needs are
met. Therefore worrying about them is unnecessary.
Earlier He had cautioned us against
storing up treasure on Earth because it can be lost or stolen (Matt.
6:19-21). He
said to store up treasure in Heaven instead, where that can't
happen. Many have
also written asking how to do that, and the answer is in Mark
10:17-22. A rich
young man had asked how to inherit eternal life.
After the young man said he was already keeping the
commandments, Jesus told him to sell everything and give it to
the poor. Then he would have treasure in Heaven.
The two points to the discussion are
that the young man was not happy with the answer because he had
great wealth and was apparently reluctant to part with it.
This proved the Lord's point that we can't serve two
masters (Matt. 6:24).
Excessive focus on material things will always get in the
way of pleasing God.
And the second point is that using our earthly treasure to help
the poor is a way to build our store of heavenly treasure.
So far it doesn't sound very practical.
Many believe that if they don't worry about taking care of
themselves, then who will?
Any if we give away all of our excess what will we do
when hard times come?
This is where some of the Lord's other
promises come into focus.
Remember, we're talking about life here.
And what did He say about life? “I have come that they
may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
Does living from hand to mouth, having
nothing to fall back on sound like a worry free abundant life?
Hardly. So there must be more to this than meets the eye. And
there is, because when you have the faith to live like He told
you to, some other promises start to kick in.
“Give, and it will be
given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and
running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure
you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)
When our actions demonstrate generosity,
then we'll be blessed generously in return.
It's a classic cause and effect relationship. Generous
giving is the sign of an abundance mentality.
It shows we know the Lord has made unlimited resources
available to us so we don't have to hoard what we have.
We can share it with those who have nothing.
This is a good time to refute the false
teaching sometimes called “giving to get.” Although Luke 6:38
says our generosity toward others will determine the Lord's
generosity toward us, giving with an expectation of receiving is
not being generous, it's being greedy.
True generosity carries no expectation of future reward,
but is an expression of gratitude for rewards already received.
If our gratitude for having our needs
consistently met in the past prompts us to give generously to
help others meet their needs in the present, then the Lord will
reward our generosity with more blessing in the future.
But if we're only giving to others because we want more
for ourselves, the Lord, who sees our hidden motives, will not
respond generously.
And my God will meet
all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19).
Here's a case in point.
The church in Philipi had responded generously by helping
to meet Paul's needs, and he promised that the Lord would see to
theirs in return. He was applying the principle of Luke 6:38.
You will be made rich
in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and
through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (2 Cor. 9:11)
This verse speaks of the escalating
effect of Luke 6:38.
As our generosity toward others increases, so does His
toward us. But His
generosity will always out pace ours so that after our giving,
we'll wind up with more than when we began. He does this so we
can respond to more needs.
The principle here is that we're to be a channel, not a
reservoir. We have to remember that His blessings are being
channeled through us to reach others in need. As soon as we stop
giving to the needs of others, we become a reservoir, storing up
what we've been given, and the flow of blessings will
stop.
But if we stay focused on giving we'll
discover that this promise contains benefits on both sides.
As we become more generous toward others, benefitting
them, we'll be made rich in every way, benefitting ourselves,
while enabling us to provide even more help to those in need.
As you can see, this involves much more than just having
our basic needs met.
It includes financial, physical, and emotional security, good
health, good relationships, and a much more fulfilling walk with
the Lord, too. This
is the answer to the question we began with.
This is the kind of life we can expect.
The times in which this advice was given
were not unlike our own.
There was uncertainty all around.
Israel's former
greatness was a distant memory and the very survival of the
nation was in doubt. Individual freedoms were being curtailed
and taxes were steadily increasing.
Most people were living at basic survival levels.
It was a time when people's natural instincts were to
hang onto whatever they could get.
Yet to these people both the Lord and
Paul preached faith in God and generosity toward one another as
the path to freedom from worry.
It was good advice then and it's good advice now. Selah
03-12-11
