Worldliness and Trust

Mat_6:19-34
The Christian life is very simpleif only we
understand it. It has only one principlesinglehearted devotion to Christ. Paul stated this principle
when he said, To me to live is Christ (Php_1:21)
Jesus states it here also when He says, Seek first His
kingdom, and His righteousness.
In our present passage, we have a whole scheme of
life.
To begin with, we must find
something real and permanent to live for. It
concerns the matter of possessions. Earths banks
are not absolutely safe ; and even if they were, they
are not eternal. We are immortal, and we must find
a place of deposit secure for immortal years. Do not
store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in
and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and
where thieves do not break in and steal.

How can we lay up treasures in heaven? By living for

God, by committing our lives to Jesus Christ, by
spending our money for the glory of God. There are
men who possess little money or property when they
leave this worldbut are rich in treasures laid up in
heaven. Paul had only the clothes he wore, an old
cloak and a few sacred parchments when his
martyrdom camebut he was rich beyond measure
in glory! There are millionaires herewho will be
beggars in the next life; and there are poor men here
who will have an inheritance of glory in heaven.
Single-heartedness is the secret of true godly
living. 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. Some people seem to think
they can keep on safe terns with Godand at the
same time maintain close relations with the world.
The Masters teaching here shows us that it is
impossible to be half Godsand half the worlds.
There is room for only one lord in our life, and we
must settle who this will be. If we belong to God, the
world is our servant. It seems strange indeed that
anyone with an immortal soul, should be willing to
have mammonmoneyfor his god. Money may do

much good and be a great blessing, if it is used for

Godbut when a man gets down upon his knees to
his money, crawls in the dust for its sake, and sells
his manhood to get itit has only curse for him. One
who truly serves Godcannot give money half his
heart. God will not share a human heart with any
other master.
A great many people are talking now about the secret
of happy living. The Master gives it here. Therefore
I tell you, do not worry about your life. Anxiety is
very common. There is a great deal of worrying in
the world, even among good people. One does not
meet very many whose faces shine always with the
light of a perfect peace. The majority of faces show
lines of care. Not many people pass undisturbed
through all manner of experiences. Is worrying a sin
or is it only an infirmity ? There certainly are a
great many cautions and warnings in the Bible
against worrying.
But how can we help it? Paul tells us how to keep
worry out of our life. In nothing be anxious. But
how can we obey this counsel? What shall we do with
the things that we would naturally worry about?
Here is the answer: In everything by prayer and

supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be

made known unto God. That is, instead of worrying
about matters that would naturally fret uswe are to
put them out of our own handsinto Gods hands,
by prayer. Then we have this assurance: The peace
of God, which passes all understanding, shall guard
your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus
(Php_4:6-7).
It will help us with our lesson, if we look carefully at
the connections of the words as they stand in the
Gospel. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious. That is,
anxiety comes from serving mammon. We say we
are Gods childrenyet when mammon seems to be
failing, and then we begin to worry. That is, we trust
mammon more than we trust our Father. We feel
safer when mammons abundance fills our hands
than when mammon threatens to fail and we have
only God. If we truly served God only, we should not
be afraid, though we have nothing of mammon, not
even bread for tomorrow.
Jesus illustrates His teaching: 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.

Elsewhere Jesus says that not even a sparrow is

forgotten by our Father. The sparrows are the most
useless and the most troublesome of all birds. You
can buy two of them for a farthing. Yet God watches
over them, and not one of them shall fall to the
ground without His permission. If God so cares for
quarrelsome sparrows, He will care much more for
His own children. We are of more value than many
sparrows. Souls are of great worthit took the blood
of the Son of God to buy us back from bondage.
Birds do not bear the Divine image. They have no
spiritual nature. The God who cares for the soulless
little birdswill surely care much more thoughtfully,
more tenderly, for a thinking, immortal being,
capable of eternal life. God is our FatherHe is not
the birds father; He is their creator and provider
but they are not His children. A woman will give
more thought to her babythan to her canary. Our
heavenly Father will provide more certainly for His
childrenthan for His birds.
Worrying is also most useless. Which of you by
being anxious, can add one cubit unto the measure
of his life? A short person cannot, by any amount of
anxiety, make himself and inch taller. Therefore,
why should he waste his energy and fret his life away

in wishing he were taller, and in worrying because

he is not?
Worrying about a coming trouble does not keep
the trouble away! Worrying over a loss does not
bring back that which is gone. People find obstacles,
difficulties and hindrances in their life. There are
hard conditions in their lot. But is there any use in
worrying over these things? Will it make them any
easier? Will anxiety cure the lame foot, remove the
ugly mole, reduce the undesired tumor, or put flesh
on the thin body? Will fretting make the heavy
burden lighter, the hard work easier, the rough way
smoother? Will anxiety keep the winter away, put
coal in the bin, or bread in the pantry, or get clothes
for the children?
Even philosophy shows the uselessness of worrying,
since it helps nothing, and only wastes ones
strength, unfitting one for doing his best. But
religion goes father than philosophy, and tells us
that even the hard things, the drawbacks, the
obstacles, may be changed into blessingsif we meet
them in the right spirit. So we learn that we should
quietly and with faith accept life as it comes to us,
fretting at nothing, changing hard conditions to

easier if we canbut if not, using them as a means

for growth and advancement.
The fact that God cares for usought to keep us
from worry. And why do you worry about clothes?
See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor
or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his
splendor was dressed like one of these. Does God
really care for the flowers? Yes, He weaves for them
their matchless garments and fills their little cups
with fragrance. Yet they live but for a day. If God
clothes these frail plants so gloriously for only a few
hours beautywill He not far more surely clothe His
own children?
It is told of Mungo Park the great traveler, that once
in the desert he was famishing for drink, and could
find no water. In his exhaustion he had sunk down in
the hot sands of despair, and had given up to die. He
saw a tiny shoot of moss growing in the sand, and
the thought came to him, God tends this little plant.
He placed it here and He is watering it. Surely, then,
He will not forget mebut will provide for me, too.
He roused up from his despair and passed on and
was saved.

Here we come upon the great principle of Christian

living. Seek first His kingdom, and His
righteousness; and all these things shall be added
unto you. That is, we are to put all the energy of our
thought and life into one effortto do Gods will. We
are not to worry about our clothing or foodthat is
Gods matter, not ours at all. We are to take thought,
however, about our duty, our work, the doing of
Gods will, and the filling of our place in the world.
Too many people worry far more about their food
and clothing, lest they shall be left to need, than they
do about doing well their whole duty. That is, they
are more anxious about Gods part in their lifethan
about their own! They fear that God may not take
care of thembut they do not have any fear that they
may fail in faithfulness to Him.
It will be a great point gained, if we learn here once
and for all that providing for our needsis Gods
matter, not ours; and that our first and only care
should be our duty, the doing of our work. This God
will never do for usbut if we are true to Him we
shall never have any occasion to fret ourselves about
our care. Suppose we are nearly starving? Well, we
must go on, doing our duty in the circumstances,
and not worrying; and in due time, perhaps at the

last momentbut somehow or other, and in some

way, the Lord will provide. Or if not, He will take us
home.