Choose this Day: Live for God or for the Creation

 Read Matthew 6:25-34

We catch todays scripture with the words of Jesus included with a bunch of words of Jesus. We get this red-letter effect because Jesus had begun what we now call the Sermon on the Mount. This didactic turned from homiletic to teaching at some point but Jesus was doing all of the talking.

After blessing and the receipt of blessings for many things that many people might overlook and even discard as trials, Jesus began teaching on of variety of topics.

As we enter Chapter 6 of Matthew’s gospel, we see teaching on not making a show of doing what’s right and giving to the poor.  These things are between you and God.

Don’t pray and count it to your credit that you use some fancy words and can make the name of God into a three-syllable word.  Praying is not for show.

Jesus even gave those who were listening a model prayer.

And by the way, don’t go all snowflake on me when you are fasting.  You are growing nearer to God. Quit acting like you are on the Batan Death March.

And when you think of your treasures, think of treasure that will last. Think of doing the will of your Father in heaven as making deposits in your heavenly account.

Then Jesus sang the first round ever of Be Careful Little Eyes what you seen.

Jesus told us that we can’t sit on the fence. Either we love God or we love his creation more. It’s one or the other. Do we love God or do we love money and all it can buy us?

Which brings us to today’s scripture and the words of Jesus.

And his words are—don’t worry.  Don’t worry.

Can any of you add one hour of life to your life by worrying about your life.  Jesus said, we’ve got this life thing.  Trust the Father in heaven. Trust me, and before you know it, you will be able to trust a spirit that lives within you.

Don’t worry.

You don’t see the birds worrying, do you? You don’t see the flowers growing anxious, do you?  Your Father in Heaven knows just what they need and he knows what you need, so stop worrying about what you think you need.

Why do we spend so much time worried about what we will eat or drink or wear?  Live for your relationship with God, not for your relationship with the opinions of others or those of your stomach or your ego.

We might say, “of course, I get that,” but living it—putting these words into practice—gets much tougher in life outside of the pew you are now in.

Worry shows up uninvited and makes itself at home.  Jesus is telling us not to give worry a home. He will take care of us.

This returns us to a familiar place. It is our nature—our human nature—to worry. We are taught to trust but we practice worry. We worry about things and events and outcomes that often don’t make a hill of beans in the long run.  

Our own understanding wants to take charge and be in charge of our decisions and countenance. Jesus said, don’t worry.

Don’t worry.

It sounds easy but to truly rid ourselves of worry, we must trust God—not a little—but with everything.

Jesus returned to making comparisons with the pagans.  They worry about everything that they have or don’t have.  They make some of the things that they desire into their gods.

Jesus challenges us to seek God and his kingdom and his righteousness before anything else.  The pagans seek after all of the things of the creation.  Jesus tells us to seek the Creator instead and he will bless us with all the things that the pagans have made into gods.

God wants us to have good things. He loves to give good gifts but he must always be God. We must put all of our trust in him. We must choose this day whom we will serve: God or his creation.

And what about worrying about the future? Don’t do it.

Tomorrow will have troubles of its own. You don’t need to claim them today.  Seek God and his kingdom and his righteousness now and let God deal with tomorrow.

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make you paths straight.

Some days are going to seem better than others. The flu, the regular crud, and even the common cold are allowed back on the once-dominated COVID scene. Jobs come and go. Death and other losses happen.

Some days are just tougher than others, but even those days are not cause for worry.

Our soul is grasped firmly by the Lord.

He has a room prepared for us.

We just need to put his words into practice.

Even in this life, he has promises for abundance and abundant life.

He has promises of health and well-being.

He has good plans for us.

Let us never despair. Let us never lose hope. Let us live without worry, knowing that God is in control.

Trust in the Lord…

Amen.

Matthew 6 - Part 4

 

Read Matthew 6

Some of you may know and many more may have guessed that I have TSDS.  That’s Teacher Spouse Derangement Syndrome.  For more years than many of you have been alive, I have heard my wife asking children, “Can you tend to your own business?  Can you take care of yourself?”

And you think that that stuff stays at school?  Really.  How many times have I been told to tend to my own business or ask if I can fix myself?

 I needed a little extra money for the electric bill this month so I decided to worry about it.  Sure enough, that extra money showed up on my doorstep.  The UPS guy rang my doorbell and was three blocks away before I opened the door, but sure enough, there was an envelope of cash from the Amazon Fulfillment center.

I was running out of time to study for my online midterm exam, so I decided it was time to worry.  Just like that, it was 2020 and they days never seem to end.  I had all the time I ever wanted and now you know why 2020 is such a mess.

I needed to go to Walmart and didn’t have anything to wear so I decided to worry.  My worry must have caused a tremor because my pajamas that I hadn’t seen in 20 years fell out of the top shelf of my closet.  I was good to go.

Do you know why you have never heard these stories before?  It’s because they never happened.  Worry can take away but it never gives.

Worry can be debilitating but never empowering.  Worry has nothing good to say on its own resume. It has nothing to offer, yet people worry all the time.

Why?  It comes down to trust and courage.

Jesus would use the phrase, O ye of little faith.

Will we not trust God?  Do we not have the courage to trust in the very One who made us, died for our sins, and rose from the dead to give us hope and a future with him?

Is our faith so weak?  Do we trust so little?

Earnest Hemmingway in A Farewell to Arms wrote that a coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave but one.  He was likely inspired by Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in which we read: The valiant never taste of death but once.

You get the meaning.  Worry can only debilitate.  Quit living out every worst-case scenario in your minds.

We will have trouble in the world but we are told to take heart for Jesus has overcome the world.  We, like Joshua, are to be strong and courageous. 

The Lord, our God, is with us wherever we go.  Quit living in fear.  Quit living lives full of worry.  Why?  It doesn’t do any good.

Consider the lilies of the field.  If God invests so much in their splendor, how much more has he invested in you?  Jesus will come back to this topic and use the analogy of sparrows, but that’s in chapter 10.

Several of us here have gone through the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, many more than once.  There is one quote that probably was not unique to Warren, but his book was where I first took it to heart.

He noted:  If you can worry, you can pray.

So, if you find yourself about to launch yourself into a course of worry, pray instead.  Don’t worry.  Pray.

I believe that Jesus would approve of this course of action, but he gave us another verb to govern us.  What verb?

Seek.

Jesus had been talking about the things that the pagans sought after in their lives.  For those who longed for God’s ways and blessings and protections, he offered these words.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Seek first, desire first, long for first the things of God and those things that the godless world has made into their gods will be given to us. 

Don’t let the things the world holds in high esteem become your god.  You know the one true God.  He is a jealous God.  Have no other gods beside him or before him or in the way or your relationship with him.

Jesus wraps up what we label as chapter 6 with these words.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

If we start to worry, then pray.

If we think we are about to worry, then change our focus to the things of God.  Seek him, his kingdom, and his righteousness.

Leave worry to tend to its own business.  Tend to your own business worry.  I’m praying and seeking.

Worry: Tend to your own business!

Amen.

 

Matthew 6 - Part 3

 

Read Matthew 6

So, Jesus began to talk about treasure.  Even in this time, much of anyone’s treasure was money.  So what do we know about money?

Money is the root of all evil, right?  No.

The love of money is the root of all evil, right?  No again.

The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.  That’s the counsel.  If money were the root of all evil, then the elimination of money might be a good cause.  If you can kill the stickers at the root, you do it.  You don’t want any more stickers.  Kill the root!

But if the love of money is the root of all sorts—not all but a bunch—of evil, then you could eliminate money but still have some evil.

So, what do we do?  Don’t fall in love with money.  It can be your servant.  Don’t let it become your spouse.  Your relationship with money should not be that intimate.

Understand that money is functional in our world.  We buy essentials and nonessentials and even luxury items.  Money is functional.

Money helps us feed someone on the other side of the planet.  It helps us buy shoes for the shoeless and sometimes even a goat and two chickens. 

Because of your offerings to our missions to Africa, some of your money bought Bibles for Kenya and Uganda.  After lugging some very heavy luggage full of Bibles, we realized that it didn’t cost that much more to just send money to the Bible vendors and have nice Bibles—sometimes in Swahili—waiting on us when we arrived.

Money is functional.  It can also be saved.  We don’t have to spend all of our money as soon as we get it, though that’s a hard sell these days.  Some spend it before they get it.

We are told that a wise person leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren.  You have to save something to leave something behind, right?

As I brought up this proverb, let me remind you that the Gospel, not money, will be the best inheritance that you can leave your children and their children, but let’s get back to money.

So, can we save money or not?  If we save money have we forfeited what God has in store for us? The question is not whether you save or spend or leave an inheritance.  It’s what is your relationship to your money—to your treasure.

If you are the master and the treasure is your servant, you have a good relationship.

If you live for money—money is your master—then you are a slave and not in a good relationship.

If you are storing up treasures for yourself now, then you are serving your money.  If you are saving with purpose—not gratifying your greed—then you are being wise with your money.

If you are saving with purpose but you ignore using your money to help others when you can, then money is trying to change your relationship.  Money is tired of being your side chick.  Money wants more. Money wants to be the master.

There is nothing that you can do to the money to change this status.  Cash, electronic funds, bitcoin, bitlesscoins, sliver, or even gold don’t define are all inanimate objects.  They have no virtue or fault in and of themselves.

You must look inside yourself.  Do you see light or darkness?  The condition of your heart, mind, soul, and desire to serve and please God is what defines your relationship with money.

In just over a dozen chapters, Jesus will warn about the pitfalls of being rich and how riches on earth can seem more appealing than the kingdom of heaven, but we will stick that camel through the eye of a needle when we get there.

God wants to bless you.  That includes blessing you with money, but that blessing is given so that you may be a blessing.  That includes with your money.

There is nothing wrong with having a nice home, a nice car or two, money in the bank and other material blessings, unless they replace God as the first and most important thing in your life.

How do you know?  Are you happier when you put away some extra money or when you help people with your money?

You can do both, but storing up treasures for yourself is a short-term investment.  All long-term investments are made in heaven. 

So, make regular deposits to what you store up in heaven.  It’s fine to have money and things to leave your children and their children.  Mine will receive their inheritance in unsold copies of my books.  That’s surely as good as gold.

Let’s consider for a moment what Jesus said about the security of our investments here on earth.  They may be consumed or corrupted or stolen or the federally insured bank in which our money is held might be shut down.

What is on deposit in the kingdom of heaven cannot be stolen or corrupted and God’s kingdom will not shut down.  We can’t see these deposits now, but Jesus told us that our deposits are safe.

Jesus left us with a simple dichotomy.  It’s a Joshua sort of question.  It’s a choose this day whom you will serve sort of question.

Do we serve God or do we serve money?  Who is our master?  Is it God or is it money?  Who do you serve?

We know the answer.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Amen.

Matthew 6 - Part 2

 

Read Matthew 6

Fasting doesn’t get a lot of attention these days.  It is still a viable means to remind us that what gratifies the body is not the most important thing.

The world has a bazillion diets that it promotes, but that’s not fasting.

Jesus said that he had food that his disciples didn’t know about.  It was to do the will of his Father in heaven.  It was to do what he was sent to do.

Sometimes we need to quit feeding our physical bodies and let God feed us his word.  You know this part.  Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

We heard that from Jesus in chapter 4 after a 40 day fast.  That might be a bit more than we can handle as far as duration goes.

We need less bread and more word.  Fasting is about the less bread part, unless you are referring to the Bread of Life.

We need fewer calories and more connection with our Lord.  Fasting is one way to draw nearer to God.  It’s not the only way, but it can be effective.

Fasting was a big deal when Jesus came into the world 2000 years ago.  It was a really big deal to the religious leaders who wanted the people to know they were checking all the blocks.

They could have opted for tee shirts that read:  FASTING.  Instead they walked around with long faces and messy hair to show they were doing their duty and people should take notice.

Jesus didn’t say there was anything wrong with fasting.  In fact, it’s still a good practice especially in this age of immediate, or even instant gratification. 

Jesus said, don’t make a show of it.  This is a really good chance for you and your heavenly Father to grow closer.  This is about real communion.  It’s not about the meals you have missed but about the true sustainment you could gain in living upon God’s word.

This is just between you and God, so dress up and head out into the world like you just had the best breakfast in the world.  Look like your have the best sustenance ever as you greet others.

Kick the Eeyore routine to the curb.  Oh, I’m so exhausted from doing what God wants.

Don’t turn instructions that God gave us for our own good into something to be dreaded.  If you fast, be joyful about it and celebrate your time of drawing closer to God.

God will reward you for being faithful to him and not requiring human validation.  Your validation, your affirmation, revitalization comes from the Lord as you bring glory to the Lord.

When you fast, fast to the Lord.

Amen.

 

Love - Hate Relationship

Read Matthew 6

Can you smell it?  It’s almost here.  I am not talking about Palm Sunday.  I am talking baseball season.  Spring training is underway.  Horsehide spheres are flying in Florida and Arizona and in backyards across this country.

How is this relevant to the gospel?

First, baseball is a divine gift from God.  It’s mentioned at the very beginning of the Bible.  You know the words.  In the Big Inning—beginning.

Actually, more than playing baseball, I want you to think about the umpire.  For any pitch that does not make contact with the bat or the batter, he has two choices:  Ball or Strike.

I remember in the 1970’s that sometimes when the umpire called a strike, it would take 4 or 5 seconds to call the pitch and scoot a few feet to exaggerate the call.  Striiiiike!!!

Balls were called with less enthusiasm, but the call was either ball or strike.  There was no, “Hmmm, that’s a close one.”  It was a ball or it was a strike.

Other than when the bat makes contact with the ball or the ball makes contact with the batter, it’s either a ball or a strike.  It is a simple dichotomy.  It’s one or the other.

Jesus put together a series of teachings that we know as the Sermon on the Mount.  This sixth chapter has many of those lessons.  Many are very straightforward dichotomies.

Jesus said, when you do your acts of righteousness, don’t put on a show for people.  This is not in conflict with let your light shine before men.  If we are doing right, people can’t help but see, but we don’t put on a show. 

When you are doing the good works that God prepared for you in advance, do them for him.  If you do them to get attention for yourself, you have been paid in full by the undo attention of others.  The immediate accolades and compliments are your bonus.

How is this a dichotomy?  You can do the good that you are supposed to do to get personal attention or you can do the things that God has set before you because you love God.

When you pray, don’t do it so people give you accolades.  Make a real connection with God.  You might get extra points with some people if your words are always accompanied with alliterative acumen, but there is no divine dividend for didactic demonstrations.  What?

Fancy prayers don’t score extra points with God.  Genuine prayer is what God desires.  It is important that we pray together.  It is powerful and effective, and it is also meant to be genuine. 

Are there things that we should include in our prayers?  Sure.  

Thanksgiving, adoration, confession, affirmation, petition, the anticipation of what God will do for his glory, and much more.  But prayer is not a show.  It is not for our recognition.

What’s the dichotomy?  We pray to garner attention for ourselves and our fancy or numerous words or we pray to the living God with our own living words.  Is it for show or for real?

It’s the same line of thinking when it comes to fasting.  Fasting is not a big part of most of our lives.  Fasting is not dieting.  A fast is not to lose weight but to lose—at least for a time—this focus we have on everything being about us.  We stop feeding our bodies and give our spirits a chance to take hold for a while.  This is designed to be between your spirit and God’s Spirit and to set aside the physical cravings that often govern our days. This was big a couple millennia ago.

But, not everyone got into the spiritual component of fasting.  In fact, many wanted some attention.  It’s hard to get attention for something that’s going on between God’s Spirit and yours, well, unless you put on a show.

Oh my, Oooooooh!  I have gone without food.  I’m doing it all for the Lord.  See my long face and know that I am doing this all for him.

Jesus counseled to get cleaned up like you would any other day and present yourself as energetic as if you had eaten the breakfast buffet at Shoneys.

Jesus also told a parable to make this point.  The Pharisee was making a big show of how great his deeds were.  He was trying to disguise his bragging as a prayer, but he was putting on a show for sure, even to the point of belittling the one person who seemed to understand praying to God—the tax collector.  The tax collector’s prayer was genuine confession. 

One was for show.  One was for real.

Jesus moved on to talking about treasure.  What’s treasure?  It’s mostly our money and stuff and also our time and talents, but money and stuff is easier to keep up with.  You can have metrics for those.

He said do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.  Why?  They may be corrupted or stolen.  Your account might get hacked.

Instead store up for yourselves treasure in heaven.  The security is fantastic.  You treasure will be ready for you when you arrive.

What’s the dichotomy?  There are a couple here if you look closely.  The first you might have missed.  It is in the verb store or store up.

While we walk this earth, saving is good but putting our money and resources to work is better.  Think Parable of the Talents.  Putting our treasure to work for our Master, stores treasure in heaven for us.  This parable tells us that most of the treasure we acquire on earth is meant to be kinetic, not potential energy.

This does not mean that we live with no savings or IRA or emergency fund.  It means that we are not accumulating wealth so that we can just eat, drink, and be merry.  Jesus had a parable to go with that as well.

I said that there were a couple dichotomies here.  This second dichotomy is intertwined in the first.   It is not the verb store or store up.  It is the storage location.  Is your treasury on earth or in heaven?  Where do you keep most of your valuables?

Why does that matter?

Jesus said, where your treasure is, that’s where you heart is.  They are collocated by your nature. Your treasure and your heart are connected.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Just what constitutes my treasure?  What is it that you are looking for?  What do you desire?

If you desire and you seek the things of God—his kingdom and his righteousness—that’s what defines your treasure.  If you are set on being enriched by the things of the world, that’s what defines your treasure.  What is it you are looking for?

When I see a group of people do I see competitors for the world’s resources?  Do I see people who might get what I want before me?  Do I think, there might not be enough to go around?

Or, do I see people who might need to hear about God’s love.  Do I see people who need the fellowship of believers?  Do I see people who need to see God’s light in me?

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Dichotomies to follow:

Am I full of light or full of darkness?

Do I seek light or do I seek darkness?

Our eyes are two-way windows not one-way mirrors.  What’s inside comes out and we hope that it is light .  The eyes also seek the desires of the heart to come in.  They are looking for what the heart wants.

It seemed that Jesus was on an either-or track.  So let’s look at how he wrapped up this pericope.

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

We don’t like slavery in this modern era.  It seems so inhumane, but we need to understand slavery a little bit to understand this verse.  Jesus is not talking about having two bosses.  He is not talking about taking a part time job after your main job is finished.

He is talking about having a master.  A slave had one master.  The master owned the slave.  The slave could be sent to work for somebody else, but he had one owner.  Having two owners was an impossibility, at least wholly impractical.

If you were the slave, you would be torn apart trying to serve two masters.  You couldn’t do it.  You would end up loving one and hating the other.  Having one master is the only way this works.

Don’t get all worked up that I am talking about slavery.  There is one form of slavery that is good.  Being a slave to Christ is a good thing for us.  Being wholly owned by our Savior is a good thing.  We say he is our Master, but today we often equate that to being our boss at work.

Being our Master, we belong to him.  He owns us.  He purchased us with his blood.  He is still our Friend, but his is fully, completely, totally our Master.

And, we don’t want another one.  Understand, that this is a winning relationship for us.  He is our Master!  We win!

We do not want to be owned by another master.  We do not want to serve another master.  We don’t even want our independence.  We do not want to be set free from our Master.

He has set us free from sin and death.  We are liberated from those things having eternal power over us.  Yes, these bodies will perish but we will live.  Sin is still around to do its best to deprive us of abundant live, but the matter of eternal life is settled by the blood of Jesus.

We need to be able to talk openly with our Master and affirm, I am yours!

I think that we understand this, but sometimes we don’t live it.  Sometimes, it seems that other masters lure us into their service.  Am I talking about Satan?  Maybe, but the masters that we might have had a fling with go by the names of money, pride, power, self-gratification, fame, or even our favorite football team.

In our modern time, there are masters that go by the names of apathy and ambivalence.  Of all the masters that we might have had before, or have flirted with, or are doing their best to recruit us; Jesus named money.

You cannot serve both God and money.

Money is surely ranked number one among worldly masters.  If you have heard me talk about money before, then this is not new.  Money is not bad.  Money is not evil.  Money is to be our servant.

In the relationship between us and money, we are the master.  If it’s the other way around, get out of the relationship.  Get back to God being your Master and then go take care of your finances.

You can’t have it both ways.  Paul would later write to his protégé Timothy and tell him that making money your god—desiring or loving money—produces all sorts of evil fruit. 

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

If you serve money, you heart is turned against God.  Both won’t fit into your life. God is a jealous God.  He is not going to share his position with anything or anyone that you have made god in your life.

It’s a love-hate relationship.  You can love all of your children and grandchildren, but you can only love one God.

You can love everyone in the body of Christ—in fact that’s exactly what we are commanded to do—but you can only love one God.

You can be master over your money.  You can abstain from money—sort of a vow of poverty if you will.  You can assign a trustee to take care of your money.  But you can’t serve both God and money.

Of these choices, I suggest that you are the master of your money.  Unless God has placed a life of poverty on your heart as the way he wants you to serve him, be the master in any relationship with money.

Unless you are helpless—like an alcoholic or addict—in dealing with money and need some guardianship there, be master of your money.

Be the master in your relationship with other things of this world:  power and authority, fame, and even your relationship with football.

We must be very honest with ourselves and each other when it comes to our love and service.  Whom do we serve?  Fortunately for us, money has metrics. 

We used to call it checkbook theology. You went through the register of your checkbook to see where all of your money went.  I am sure that I have lost some younger folks at this point who have only read about checkbooks in history class and have no idea what a register is.

The register might look like this:

Rent

Car payment

Gas bill

Electric bill

Water bill

Satellite TV

Internet

We try to pay the important stuff first, then pay the rest, such as:

Groceries

Eating out

Church offering

And if you live in Burns Flat, it might also have things like:

Fundraiser

Fundraiser

Fundraiser

Gasoline

Fundraiser

Eating out

Fundraiser

Movie rental

Fundraiser

Gasoline

Fundraiser

Clothes for kids

Fundraiser

And don’t forget two dollars for the goat and two chickens.

At the end of the month, you keep asking, where did it all go?  The problem is we seldom do this exercise. I’m not picking on fundraisers.  Some registers might have 20 entries that say ballgames or movies or golf.  If you want to make sure that you never get the answer to where your money goes, make all of your checks out to cash.

Today, the cards that I use to pay most of my bills and expenses will total my spending by category.  That’s cool.

Does our register review tell us who our master is?  No, but it might give us pause to investigate further.  We never want to put our loyalty and service at risk.

We are saved by the blood of Jesus, but whom do we serve?

Before he died, Joshua, who led his people into the Promised Land and drove out those who were foolish enough to try and fight against God’s own people, put forth a challenge to all of the tribes.

He said, choose this day whom you will serve.  There was no shortage of false gods.  They could pick from those who were in the lands where they were slaves or who had been worshipped in the land that they now possessed. There was no shortage.

Joshua was compelled to challenge his own people to choose.  He taunted his own people a bit telling them that serving the Lord was probably too much for them.  They were not up for the job.

Joshua, as you recall, declared as for him and his household, they would serve the Lord.

The leaders of the tribes responded in like manner, but the false gods didn’t just pack up and go home.  They hung around seized every opportunity to draw God’s people away.

We have false gods in our time as well.  They just don’t seem to go away.  They go by different names but they want to be our master.

We have only one Master.  We are his.  We don’t want it any other way.  By his stripes we are healed.  By his blood sin and death have no power over where we spend eternity.  Death is defeated!

And false gods are still doing their best to pull us away from our Lord.

So as we look at the dichotomies that Jesus addressed, with God and money—or anything else that wants to be our god—we need to affirm whom we serve.  I charge us to make an affirmation in the style of Joshua.

Let’s affirm that we serve the Lord.

As for me and my house, we serve the Lord!

Amen!