I was reading Matthew 6 this morning. Matthew 6 is right in the middle of Jesus' sermon on the mountain, his first message after going public with his ministry. The chapter starts out talking about doing our prayers, giving to the needy and fasting, all in secret for God. The point being that we do those things not for the praise of people. The second half of the chapter talks about not worrying in getting the things we need to survive (clothes, water, food).The students at Fellowship Church acted out this second half about a month ago by sitting in rocking chairs and trying to rock towards signs we made saying clothes, water and food on them. It was a great illustration. Most of us find ourselves at one time or another and in our own ways spending a great amount of energy and time chasing after money and possessions the hard way. Jesus says straight up "Do NOT store up treasures for yourselves here on earth!"
If God says he'll take care of us, why do we strive so hard for these things?
One suggestion is found right in the middle of this whole chapter. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If then your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" (v. 22, 23).
It matters what we're looking at. The word for healthy means pure, sound, a seeking after the righteousness of God kind of thing (some have suggested that the meaning is being generous. It definitely fits within the context and being generous is certainly an attribute of living out God's righteousness). The point being that when our focus in on those things, our body will be full of light, a.k.a, we'll be able to know where we need to be and go and do. We'll be able to know that our path is good or evil. We'll have a peace of mind in being able to see. You can't see if everything is total dark. And that's what happens when our focus is not pure, sound, and seeking those righteous things of God.
You may already know what God says to do. Maybe you've been a Christian for some time now. Maybe you're even a leader in the church. But you still refuse to give up your pursuit of getting for "me and my circle." Maybe He even convicts you with the Holy Spirit about those things if you're a follower of Jesus, He does that sort of thing you know.
David says in Psalm 119:35-37 "Guide me in the path of your commands, for I delight to walk in it. Give me a desire for your rules, rather than for wealth gained unjustly. Turn my eyes away from what is worthless!Revive me with your word!"
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