Daily Scripture:
Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves wealth here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and burglars break in and steal. 20 Instead, store up for yourselves wealth in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and burglars do not break in or steal. 21 For where your wealth is, there your heart will be also. 22 ‘The eye is the lamp of the body.’ So if you have a ‘good eye’ [that is, if you are generous] your whole body will be full of light; 23 but if you have an ‘evil eye’ [if you are stingy] your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No one can be slave to two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can’t be a slave to both God and money.
25 “Therefore, I tell you, don’t worry about your life — what you will eat or drink; or about your body — what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds flying about! They neither plant nor harvest, nor do they gather food into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they are? 27 Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to his life?
28 “And why be anxious about clothing? Think about the fields of wild irises, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread, 29 yet I tell you that not even Shlomo in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these. 30 If this is how God clothes grass in the field — which is here today and gone tomorrow, thrown in an oven — won’t he much more clothe you? What little trust you have!
31 “So don’t be anxious, asking, ‘What will we eat?,’ ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘How will we be clothed?’ 32 For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. 33 But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Don’t worry about tomorrow — tomorrow will worry about itself! Today has enough tsuris already! (Complete Jewish Bible).
Reflection Questions:
J. K. Rowling told her Harvard audience, “Personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement.”* Jesus' commencement address, too, would tell graduates (and parents) that the human heart has room for only one supreme allegiance. Give that loyalty to God, not wealth, he’d say. And using hyperbole (exaggeration to make a point, as in “That bag weighs a ton”), he would warn graduates about the dangers of worry (which is different from planning).
- Conduct a simple life audit. Review your calendar and your checkbook. Based on the time, energy and resources reflected there, what “master(s)” do those tools say you are serving? Can you see ways your loyalties are shifting as you choose to invest in heavenly treasure? Are there other changes you could make to give you greater freedom to fully serve God as Lord of your life?
- Jesus seemed to anticipate modern research when he asked, “Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life?” (verse 27) There is a great deal of research that points in the other direction, suggesting that worry likely shortens our lives. How can you distinguish needs from wants, and plan for the future without worrying about it?
Lord Jesus, you are Lord of my life, and I want to “collect treasures” in heaven. Teach me how to live a life of peace and trust, in which my energy focuses on your purposes rather than my fears. Amen.
* Quoted from text of speech at https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2008/06/text-of-j-k-rowling-speech/.
Read today's Insight by Matt Ozment
Matt is the Media Services Production Manager in the Tech Arts ministry at Church of the Resurrection. He joined the staff in December 2014 and supports the technology needs of each special or weekly event outside of weekend worship at Resurrection Leawood. In his free time, he spends time with his 2 kids, supports his wife’s cake business, and aspires to be a novelist.
This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture (specifically verses 25-34 - the “Don’t worry” passage). It’s not necessarily because of passionate preaching or a beautiful parable. It’s because every time I read this I feel convicted. Now I know it’s odd to like being convicted, but I look at it as a reminder that I constantly need. I’m a planner by nature, but in that I’m prone to overstepping and end up filling my life with worries, stress, and anxiety.
These verses, which focus primarily on clothes, food, and drink still speak to me in regards to writing, event planning, family, and just life in general. Jesus said, “Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life?”
Worry is everywhere. I worry about the future. I worry about my toddler son, who’s hilarious, but so clumsy that he’s one “run into the wall” away from a broken arm. I worry about my daughter, who just graduated from preschool last week and is now a few months from beginning Kindergarten. I’m worrying right now about what I’m writing, having restarted four times. I’m worried about if I’ll be able to offer spiritual insight and guidance in the process, or at the very least just fill the page.
Since it’s graduation week, I want to revisit that last week my daughter graduated from Preschool. I realize that she’s not moving away, but for my first-born to move into Kindergarten next year is a big deal. Up to this point she went to Preschool at the church where I work. At random points throughout the day I was able to walk by the outdoor playground and see her playing with her friends. I had comfort in the fact that if anything was wrong I was right down the hall from her. In August, that will no longer be the case. She’ll be in another building, in a different zip code from me. And I worry for her. Will she make friends? Will she do well in school? Will the other kids be nice to her? Will she be able to stand up for herself? The list goes on. For those of you who have kids who just went through a graduation ceremony, I’d imagine some of these questions resonate with you (though on a much larger scale for those who graduated high school or college).
But then this passage reminds me not to worry. Just like the “lilies of the field” in verse 28, the Heavenly Father will help her to grow into the woman she’s meant to be. I’m reminded also that while she was "just down the hall" from me, she never once needed me. So why worry? She’s been perfectly content thus far, and God has already grown her into who she is today. I get to be there to support that growth, to guide her, and to listen each night to the tales of her days. But God will be present in everything, and I shouldn’t worry, because I get to be a part of the story.
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Matt is the Media Services Production Manager in the Tech Arts ministry at Church of the Resurrection. He joined the staff in December 2014 and supports the technology needs of each special or weekly event outside of weekend worship at Resurrection Leawood. In his free time, he spends time with his 2 kids, supports his wife’s cake business, and aspires to be a novelist.
This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture (specifically verses 25-34 - the “Don’t worry” passage). It’s not necessarily because of passionate preaching or a beautiful parable. It’s because every time I read this I feel convicted. Now I know it’s odd to like being convicted, but I look at it as a reminder that I constantly need. I’m a planner by nature, but in that I’m prone to overstepping and end up filling my life with worries, stress, and anxiety.
These verses, which focus primarily on clothes, food, and drink still speak to me in regards to writing, event planning, family, and just life in general. Jesus said, “Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life?”
Worry is everywhere. I worry about the future. I worry about my toddler son, who’s hilarious, but so clumsy that he’s one “run into the wall” away from a broken arm. I worry about my daughter, who just graduated from preschool last week and is now a few months from beginning Kindergarten. I’m worrying right now about what I’m writing, having restarted four times. I’m worried about if I’ll be able to offer spiritual insight and guidance in the process, or at the very least just fill the page.
Since it’s graduation week, I want to revisit that last week my daughter graduated from Preschool. I realize that she’s not moving away, but for my first-born to move into Kindergarten next year is a big deal. Up to this point she went to Preschool at the church where I work. At random points throughout the day I was able to walk by the outdoor playground and see her playing with her friends. I had comfort in the fact that if anything was wrong I was right down the hall from her. In August, that will no longer be the case. She’ll be in another building, in a different zip code from me. And I worry for her. Will she make friends? Will she do well in school? Will the other kids be nice to her? Will she be able to stand up for herself? The list goes on. For those of you who have kids who just went through a graduation ceremony, I’d imagine some of these questions resonate with you (though on a much larger scale for those who graduated high school or college).
But then this passage reminds me not to worry. Just like the “lilies of the field” in verse 28, the Heavenly Father will help her to grow into the woman she’s meant to be. I’m reminded also that while she was "just down the hall" from me, she never once needed me. So why worry? She’s been perfectly content thus far, and God has already grown her into who she is today. I get to be there to support that growth, to guide her, and to listen each night to the tales of her days. But God will be present in everything, and I shouldn’t worry, because I get to be a part of the story.
Like this post? Share it!
You might also like:
- Seek to please God instead of trying to impress people
- True goodness is internal, not external
- True happiness: living as God’s salt and light
- Prayer Tip: What Would Jesus Say to Graduates?
- Jesus modeled lifelong concern for his mother
- Or download this week's printable GPS.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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