Matthew 6:16-34
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33, NKJV)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addressed our desire for material things. Inherently, material things are neither good nor evil. It is the value and priority that people place on them that make them either a tool for doing good or a cause for stumbling. Money is not the root of all evil; it is the love of money that is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). It is the obsession with material things that causes covetousness, envy, stealing, selfishness, and backbiting. Jesus warned us against laying up treasures for ourselves on earth because they do not last, and they keep us worldly-minded. It is better to lay up treasures in heaven because they last forever, and they keep us heavenly-minded. Our hearts will always follow our treasure.
It is our fixation on material things that causes worry. Will we have enough to eat? Will we have enough to wear? Will we have a place to live? Such fears motivate us to anxiety and activity, but they can also choke out our effectiveness for the kingdom of God. It isn’t that it is wrong to work, quite the contrary. We must work if we want to eat. But setting our hearts on things rather than setting on hearts on Christ and on loving others will lead us astray.
Therefore, Jesus tells us to set the right priorities. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and He will ensure that we have everything else that we need. If we obey Him, then He will take care of us.
Matthew 6:33 changed my life. The Lord used this verse to challenge me to forsake the pursuit of money and to seek Him. He called me out of this world and into His kingdom. And He has blessed us both spiritually and materially. God has freed us not to be greedy accumulators of material things, but to use them to bless others and to advance His Gospel. God has blessed us with many things for our enjoyment, but He has kept us from fixing our hearts on them. If the day comes when He takes them all away, then we will still have Jesus and our treasured human relationships. Meanwhile, the treasures that we have laid up in heaven are kept safe for all eternity.