We are rich in know-how, but poor in character. This reading forces us to go beyond “Thanks, God, for all my stuff!” or “Help me to get more stuff!” in our prayers—and properly so. One calls us to love light, the other to love darkness. He calls us to love them. “You can’t serve both God and Mammon” (Greek: mamona—property, money, possessions). ), which the WEB has updated. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Man is formed for nobler pursuits than the mere desire to be rich. The one calls us to be humble and the other to be proud, the one to set our minds on things above and the other to set them on things below. The promise that such clothing will bring happiness proves hollow when it encourages casual sex and results in unwanted pregnancies. Jesus does not promise affluence, but promises only that the Father will provide for such basic needs as food and clothing. While wealth tempts us to selfishness, it is possible to use wealth unselfishly. “Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?” (v. 27). If God takes care of wildflowers and grass, won’t he also take care of his children? 28b-29). Of course sparrows also do “work” for they food. Matthew 6:(24)25-32 Matthew 6:24 may function as the opening to this section (6:24-34), since there is concern here for clothes, and fine foods, and good drink (6:31). It displays a lack of faith in God and a lack of trust in His promises. Dr. James D. Kegel . He loves us. • Our worry is futile; it does not accomplish anything. • If God were to answer every prayer as asked, the result would be chaos. Matthew 6:24-34 - Understand the meaning of Matthew 6:24-34 with Christian Bible study, teaching, sermons, and commentary search on hokma.com. The subject here is worry—anxiety. Those stars reside in two separate parts of the heavens. The words describe a common feeling among humans as we consider what the future may bring to us personally and to the ones we love. Toward the end of this Gospel Jesus will warn that, on Judgment Day, God will count as sheep those who have taken care of the needy and will count as goats those who have failed to do so (Matthew 25:31-46). And so we come to a passage like Matthew 6 and it speaks into the very heart of where most of us – perhaps all of us – are at. That task might seem overwhelming in its scope, but Jesus calls us to trust God—and not to be anxious. Failure to recognize the class divisions our economic system perpetuates coincides with a distortion of the meaning of Jesus’ famous prayer. Or, to summarize Jesus, God will deal with the rest. In 16:8, he questions their level of trust again, but it is not in the context of a miraculous event. It is people such as this who ask “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?”. But Jesus said “this generation” would not end before all these events took place. Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow— Jesus argues from lesser to greater—a common type of reasoning among the Jews of his day. While planning and preparing, we can be sure that God is for us, so we have no need to be anxious (Romans 8:31). Can you sit on the fence? It is simple stewardship to exercise such prudence—to adopt healthy practices and to encourage others to do the same. it simply empties today of its joy. Found 40 results. When I read the first line of Psalm 131 — “O LORD, my heart is not lifted up” — I immediately think of the sursum corda, There is much confusion in our congregations about “judgment.”. The issue isn’t our clothing but our hearts. But Jesus expects his followers to put forward energy into things that give more meaning to life. It is good to enjoy God’s beautiful gifts, but it is not good to worry about them. (1) Jesus’ warning against doing good to be seen by others. He said: “We are rich in the things that perish, Source(s): https://shrinks.im/a9IRV. Problem: Jesus spoke of signs and wonders regarding His second coming. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. In Jesus’ example, God’s care for nature is even more attentive than this unnatural acquisition of wealth, perhaps a subtle critique generated by 6:24. God created krina to be even more lavish and sumptuous than even Solomon’s Sunday best. So many people are so worried about such petty things—even the brand names on clothing and cars. He doesn’t counsel us to be flippant about possessions or to be careless stewards. “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. 0 0. brandais. “Therefore, I tell you, don’t be anxious (merimnesete) for your life.”Jesus is not commending recklessness, but calls us not to be distracted by worry. If we truly loved our neighbor, as Jesus calls us to do, we would eat more simply and do more to provide for the needs of our hungry neighbor. Matthew 6:24-34 A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow. Lectionary Reflections on Matthew 6:24-34 February 27, 2011. The verse’s meaning is as direct as it sounds. God does not clothe his creatures in plain, unadorned, shapeless garments. It alienates the affections from God produces envy of another's prosperity; leads to fraud, deception, and crime to obtain wealth, and degrades the soul. SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS are from the World English Bible(WEB), a public domain (no copyright) modern English translation of the Holy Bible. • Our prayers are precious to God, because we are precious to God. It emphasizes that the Father, who has demonstrated his generosity throughout all creation knows our needs—and, if we will seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, “all these things will be given to you as well” (v. 33). But the reality of life in the first century for many people was a challenge to acquire the necessities of life-like food and clothing-through laborious living. We need to tread very carefully here, because there are broken hearts in every pew. The problem is that mammon snakes its tentacles around our hearts and chokes our relationship with God. Today we call it Affluence or Success or Promotion or Prosperity or the Good Life, and use it as a sailor uses the North Star—to set our direction—to guide our lives. The KJV says, “Therefore take no thought,” which sounds as if Jesus is prohibiting planning, but that is not the case. “Each day’s own evil (kakia—evil, bad things, difficulties, troubles, hardships) is sufficient.” This is a call to live in the present—and to trust God for present needs. Jesus counsels his disciples to store up treasure in heaven rather than on earth (6:19-21) and then says, “The eye is the lamp of the body,” (6:22)—using the eye as a metaphor for spiritual vision. DO NOT WORRY (Matthew 6:25-34) By Ted Schroder, www.virtueonline.org January 15, 2012. Jesus isn’t anti-money, but is instead anti-anxiety. Matthew 6:34. (0.115 seconds) Sermon on the Mount: 04 Trust (Vimeo) Video Bible Talks. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? If it is true that we can truly serve only one master—and Jesus and experience tell us that it is—then it matters greatly which master we choose to serve. Not only are krina beautifully clothed, but trees too—and birds—and butterflies—and lions, leopards, panthers, and cheetahs—and horses and cows—and koalas and kangaroos—and zebras and giraffes—and tropical fish. Aren’t you of much more value than they? You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. In chapter 6, Jesus calls for simple piety and secrecy in almsgiving (6:1-4), prayer (6:5-15), and fasting (6:16-18). ... Matthew 6:24(NASB) Verse Thoughts. It isn’t that we are to strive for the kingdom of God for a period of time so that we may then be free to strive for other things, but that we should keep the kingdom in the forefront of our concerns always. The language of forgiveness (i.e., “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” 6:13) is understood falsely as only an internal spiritual condition rather than an external action of debt relief. They need love, not insensitive, ill-considered Biblical quotations. The promise is that the person who steers in that direction will find blessings along the way. A cubit is a measure of distance rather than time—the distance from fingertip to elbow—roughly a foot and a half (half a meter). Definitions of poverty, wealth, and the good life are much different today than they were then. “Therefore don’t be anxious” (merimnesete) (v. 31). They decided to sit back and await Jesus’ Second Coming. Matthew’s Jesus shows his ethnic bias, as he utilizes the Gentiles as a negative foil: “do you really want to be like the ethne?”  In Matthew’s depiction, this type of ethnic pride appears several times (cf. We are to seek the things of God as a priority over the things of the world. “So don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” As noted above, this is not intended to prohibit planning but anxiety. Society has changed a great deal since the time of Jesus. He/she must then try to protect these possessions against moth, rust, embezzlement, accounting fraud, inflation, deflation, high and low interest rates, and innumerable other threats. Can you take the middle ground? There is no prohibition in this verse against possessing wealth, but a few verses earlier Jesus counseled, “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (6:19-21). After his encounter with the rich young ruler, Jesus observed, “it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24). As I am writing this, we are living in an era of unprecedented affluence. Yet, life is more than food and clothing. 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. Kurios is a word often used in the New Testament for Jesus, and on those occasions is usually translated “Lord.” In this verse, it refers to a different kind of master—a slave owner. We are eating ourselves to death. “The greatest danger to Western Christianity is not, as is sometimes alleged, prevailing ideologies such as Marxism, Islam, the New Age movement or humanism, but rather the all-pervasive materialism of our affluent culture” (Craig Blomberg, quoted in Keener, 151). However, it is a promise that, in life and death, we belong to God and, in life and death, God provides for our needs. He commanded them to work and to eat their own bread (2 Thessalonians 3:12). • God clothes the flowers beautifully, even though they are of minor importance compared with humans—God’s sons and daughters created in God’s image. 19:21). 1. We are rich in gadgets, but poor in faith. The wealth is unevenly distributed, but the love of money burns equally brightly in the hearts of rich and poor. The disciples’ excitement is understandable. “your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (v. 32b). Society has changed a great deal since the time of Jesus. “No one can serve two masters“ (kuriois). To be compared to Solomon is one thing; to be compared to the “Gentiles” is quite another (6:32). 26“See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Jesus knows human nature so well. And, of course, death will sooner or later take it all away—all of it—irrevocably. If Jesus’ followers cannot trust God in these moments, how can they expect to trust God’s grander activities in the world? “No one can serve two masters. In chapter 6, Jesus calls for simple piety and secrecy in almsgiving (6:1-4), prayer (6:5-15), and fasting (6:16-18). We are rich in goods, but poor in grace. As Ruth Graham Bell says: “I (have) learned that worship and worry cannot live in the same heart: they are mutually exclusive.” Someone else made this observation: “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its trials— VIII (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995), Bruner, Frederick Dale, Matthew: Volume 2, The Churchbook, Matthew 13-28 (Dallas: Word, 1990), Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R.; Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, A (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1992), Gardner, Richard B, Believer’s Church Bible Commentary (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1990), Hagner, Donald A., Word Biblical Commentary: Matthew 1-13 (Dallas: Word Books, 1993), Hare, Douglas R. A., Interpretation: Matthew (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1993), Johnson, Sherman E. and Buttrick, George A., The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. Matthew 6:24-34 The Word of God 'No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. Is it possible for one to consider themselves as a non-aligned? “for either he will hate the one and love the other.” It isn’t possible for us to balance two loves for any length of time, because one will bubble to the top and squash the other. • The poor person is anxious about keeping a roof overhead and food on the table. Much of the clothing for young people, particularly teenage girls, is revealing and sexually provocative. Matthew 6:25-27. Here, in 6:30, Jesus focuses their attention on everyday affairs, the mundane. Finally, in Matthew’s Gospel, the mission will eventually turn toward the ethne, that is, the “nations, Gentiles, foreigners” in the world. Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Consider the lilies (Greek: krina—wildflowers) of the field, how they grow. Each day’s own evil (Greek: kakia) is sufficient.”. In verses 25-33, he is talking about essentials—food, water, and clothing. There is more to life than concern for daily needs, though this may be difficult for some (cf. Our difficulty with this is that Christians often suffer violence or poverty or starvation or illness—just like everyone else. • While God might not always give us everything we want—any more than you would give your children everything they want—Jesus promises that God will bless us when we call on him day and night (Luke 18:7). Matthew 24:34 —Did Jesus err by affirming that the signs of the end time would be fulfilled in His era? But it may also provide the conclusion to the previous section (6:19-24; as in the CEB and NIV). The Christian who puts Jesus’ counsel into practice can have a tremendous witness. Matthew 6:25-34. You can’t serve both God and Mammon (Greek: mamona—property, money, possessions). To place effort in acquiring goods for one’s self may distract from seeking righteousness and justice around us. The promise is not wealth, but essentials—food and clothing. The irony, of course, is that anxiety does not lengthen life but shortens it. To try to tack between these two stars can only lead us into the abyss. Matthew 6:24 is the twenty-fourth verse of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount.. 25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Jesus makes it sound as if securing clothing is part of the natural process, like the “lilies of the field” which “neither toil nor spin.”  Jesus compares these beautiful and well-cared for lilies to Solomon’s wealth, a well-known tradition about the wealthiest royalty in Jewish history. The NRSV’s placement of 6:24 on its own is non-committal. God obviously enjoys beauty, and provides it in abundance for our enjoyment. The Rev. Worry, however, is not one of those healthy practices. The more we have, the more we stand to lose—and the more we worry about losing it. Augsburger, Myron S., The Preacher’s Commentary: Matthew (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982). Doing good to please God. You cannot serve God and wealth. it empties today of its strength.”. Matthew 6:24–34 24 c “ No one can serve two masters , for either he will hate the one and love the other , or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other . Sep 25, 2017 - Bible teaching on Matthew 6:19-34. 24 “No one can serve two masters. The purpose of these spiritual endeavors is to do God’s will. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear...do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. What Billy Graham said decades ago continues to resonate today. Collecting “treasures” (6:19) provides the overarching theme for this entire section and may more clearly reveal where human passions lie: “For where your treasure is…” (6:21; cf. “seek first God’s kingdom” does not mean first in sequence but first in priority. In the Parable of the Bridesmaids (25:1-13), Jesus makes it clear that preparation is essential—although the preparation called for in that parable is spiritual in nature, and is not intended to secure the cradle-to-grave physical security that we crave. The energy required to maximize profitability, even of a modest estate, is enormous, and there are no guarantees. Clearly, Jesus is not unaware of the challenges of living in first century villages: “Today’s trouble is enough for today” (6:34). Matthew 6:25-34: Radical Words for Trusting God for Life's Ordinaries — An Excerpt from McKnight's "Sermon on the Mount" Commentary. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” It is the thirty-fourth, and final, verse of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount.This verse concludes the discussion of worry about material provisions. Anxiety with regard to Mammon is a soul-cancer that strikes the rich, the poor, and those in the middle: • The rich person is anxious to get richer still—to accumulate houses, cars, art, clothing, and other possessions to advertise his/her success. The KJV approach has much to commend it. He challenges people to take a position on wealth, a potential threat to God (6:24). It is a term that designates all non-Jews. 28Why are you anxious about clothing? When we really love one, we will resent the claims the other tries to make on our lives and will begin to hate/despise that one. Some Christians in Thessalonica misunderstood this. These verses are related to our text, because they emphasize living a life focused on God—seeking Godly rather than human approval—and seeking spiritual rather than material rewards. Therefore I say, Take no thought, &c. — Our Lord here proceeds to caution his disciples against worldly cares, these being as inconsistent with the true service of God as worldly desires. Paul counsels the rich “not to be haughty,” but “to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19). Part of a six-video series. The disciples simply fail to grasp Jesus’ teaching about the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew 24:34 - Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. The typical mall has acres and acres of clothing on display—most of it fashionable rather than functional. “But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well” (v. 33). on StudyLight.org. Jesus uses the criticism of oligopistoi in v. 30 (“people of little faith” [NRSV] or “weak faith”[CEB]) only with the disciples (e.g., 8:26; 14:31; 16:8). Worry disables; faith enables. Conversely, people who ignore Jesus’ moral precepts often make great trouble for themselves. 24“No one can serve two masters (Greek: kuriois), for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. This is often reflected in our attitude towards our material possessions. While there was no religion in Jesus’ day that worshiped a god called Mammon, people in every age worship at Mammon’s altar. Poor people are easily tempted by lotteries and other unlikely get-rich-quick schemes, because they have such desperate needs and so little hope. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Primarily, it means we are to seek the salvation that is inherent in the kingdom of God because it is of greater value than all the world’s riches. You can’t serve both God and Mammon, “for either he will hate the one and love the other.”, “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”, “it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God”, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done”, “what you will eat, or what you will drink.”, “nor yet for your body, what you will wear.”, “Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”, “Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?”, of the field…. This Site Might Help You. “nor yet for your body, what you will wear.”A visit to a modern mall will demonstrate our obsession with decorating our bodies. Lv 4. Definitions of poverty, wealth, and the good life are much different today than they were then. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes." • People who live as Jesus calls us to live are not only better equipped spiritually to survive tough times, they are more likely to live more enjoyable lives—and more prosperous lives as well. For those for whom the scarcity of food is a daily concern, it is not easy to be unconcerned. We can take comfort in that fact, because the Father is capable of meeting our needs. The first view accords better with the reason given and would presuppose the other lessons; the latter is favored by the position of the verse immediately after the general precept of Matthew 6:33, and finds a place more easily in a logical analysis of the discourse. That is better than we asked or even imagined | 299 views with... Other, or you will hate the one commands us to love light, the mundane clothes will us! 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