Matthew 6:24-34 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 6:24-34 on biblegateway.com
Verse 24"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. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Verse 25"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. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Verse 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Verse 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? Verse 28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, Verse 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. Verse 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? Verse 31Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' Verse 32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Verse 33But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Verse 34"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.
Devotion
Going to war and back is like pressing a reset button on your priorities. I suppose it’s like surviving a serious illness. Some things don’t seem so important. Who cares if the road has a pothole, as long as it doesn’t blow up when you drive over it? Other things are more important – just ask my kids how many hugs they’ve gotten since I’ve been home.
Why should it take war or illness to put things in perspective for us? I’d like to believe that it doesn’t have to, that we can read these words of Jesus and accept them. I’d like to believe we can get our priorities straight. I’d like to believe we could seek his kingdom first and not get “wrapped around the axle,” as soldiers say, about the rest. We should be able to see what’s important without needing to be shot at first, shouldn’t we?
Prayer
Father, the only way for us to not worry is to trust that you have indeed provided for all our needs. Sometimes that’s hard to see. Help us trust you enough to put you first. Amen.