What do you seek first?

Matthew 6:24-34 provides us with two main issues that we need to deal with, two things that we are tempted to seek first other than God, money and worry.  As we all know, those things are often tied together.  If we have money we worry about what will happen to it, and if we don’t have money we worry about how to get it.  We can live our lives as a slave to money, how to get it, how to keep it, and how to save it.  We also worry about lots of other things in our lives – our families, our health, our future.  Some of us build our lives on money, seeking that before all things, others build our lives on worry, or maybe a combination of the two, but neither of those foundations hold up to the test of time or the things that this world can throw at us.

God wants so much more for us.  God wants us to choose who we will serve first, what will be our foundation for our lives.  Will the foundation of our lives be money and anxiety, or will it be God?  There can ultimately only be one true foundation, one ultimate trust.  Every day we must make a choice about who and what we will serve, and the foundation that our lives will be built on.  Will we seek anxiety and money, or will we seek God first?

Take a moment and think about all of the things that you could worry about.  The list can seem ominous and overpowering.  None of us would say that this is what God wants for us, to be slaves to money and live in a constant state of anxiety and worry about everything around us, and yet, many of us live in that state of slavery and anxiety.  Jesus tells us in this passage that worry doesn’t actually get us anywhere.  All the worry in the world cannot possibly change anything.  All we do when we worry is get ourselves upset, and the only changes produced by our worry are negative changes to our own health. 

It has been said that you can determine the priorities of your life by looking at your bank account and where you spend your money, or your calendar and where you spend the majority of your time.  You spend your money and time on the things that matter most to you, and that is true, but I think there is another component.  When everything seems to fail, when nothing seems to be going right and your life seems to be spiraling out of control, where do you turn first?  Do you turn to money to try to fix things, or do you turn to God.  My guess is that most of us would say God, but if you really think about it, if you are really honest with yourself, is it God you turn to first, or just after the money didn’t work.

Our world tells us that money can fix everything.  It can fix anything that may be wrong with us.  There is always something bigger and better to buy, to spend our money on.  The tv is filled with commercials telling us that the way to fix our lives is to spend money on some new great product.  In our minds we know money can’t buy love and happiness, but many have a good time trying.  We must continually, mindfully choose which of these we take to be the true bedrock of our lives, our own economic self-care, or God’s care for us. 

Trusting in God and not money doesn’t mean that we are not supposed to work or make a living to provide for ourselves and our families.  It means that we are not to put our ultimate faith and trust in it.  Money should be something that we can use to serve God, and something that God has blessed us with, rather than something that determines our lives and our destiny.  This is an issue regardless of who you are, or where you fall on the economic scale.  The amount of money involved is not the issue.  The issue is the orientation of our ultimate trust.

There was a bumper sticker that was popular some years ago that many of us still believe to be true that said “the one who dies with the most toys wins”, but the question is, wins what?  Money can be the insecure and unstable foundation, or a tool and blessing to continue God’s work.  “If we truly are under God’s loving, personal care, if God truly does and will provide, then though we may and should work and strive, in the end, our own efforts are not the source of our wellbeing.  In truth, God is taking care of that, no matter what circumstances may come.”  The focus should not be on how many toys we have and who has the most, but where our hearts are.

I have heard this passage used to say that if you face problems in your life it means that you must not be faithful enough and not trusting in God enough, and that is absolutely not true!  When Jesus said this He knew that we would still face challenges, loss, grief, and doubts.  All of us – rich and poor, privileged and exploited – have legitimate reasons to worry, even though ultimately, we know worrying does not change the realities we face.  Jesus understands this; his call to worry-free living and seeking God’s Kingdom first is not based on unrealistic views of the world.  His words are for those who understand that God will not leave us without resources or support.  We can face life with all its uncertainties and contingences with the assurance that we are not alone – that God hears, sees, and cares about us and our situation.

Want to find out more about the life God wants for you?  Join us on Sunday mornings at 10:30am at Brownell Middle School.

God bless, Rev. Liz Arakelian, www.LivingHopeEC.org