“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ... Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life” (Matt 6:25-27).
Worry is a choice. We don’t think of it that way, of course. To us, worry is just what happens when you’ve got a lot on your mind, but the scriptures insist that worry is a choice that we’re making.
When Jesus talks about food and clothes, he’s not talking about modern, prosperous Americans who wonder if they can afford to eat out or want a new pair of designer jeans. He’s talking to people who wonder where their next meal will come from and only have one threadbare garment. He says to them, trust God to meet your material needs. If he expects that of them, he certainly does of us.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:19-21).
It’s OK to want to be rich, but there’s more than one kind of riches.
According to Jesus, there is wealth that will pass away and wealth that will last. He advises us to store up wealth that will last. But what kind of wealth lasts?
In the past, wealth might just be stored food. If you could store up enough grain to last a lifetime, you were set — unless something got into your grain and ruined it. Or you could have gold or silver — as long as no one broke in and stole it. Today people are less likely to keep massive granaries, preferring to invest so that your money makes more money. Until the stock market crashes or that company you sunk your savings into turns out to be nothing but a shell game. So some people just hide their cash in their backyard, which seems like a safe bet until runaway inflation hits and a loaf of bread costs a million dollars (or Deutsch marks).
Stored goods can be ruined, gold can be stolen, markets can crash, and money can be devalued. What kind of treasure lasts forever?
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt 6:12).
I no longer remember what we were talking about, but more than 15 years later, I still remember my response: “Some things you just can’t forgive.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew they were wrong and wished I could unsay them. Not only were those words not true, they encouraged someone else’s worst impulses.
Here’s the unvarnished truth: Those things you think you can’t forgive? Jesus wants you to forgive them. He demands it. “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matt 6:14-15).
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matt 6:1).
Some call this a contradiction. Matt 5:16 says to “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds.” This verse says not to. What’s going on?
Things are clearer when you read the whole passage. They always cut 5:16 off early. Jesus said to let them see your good deeds “and glorify your Father in heaven.” In chapter 6, Jesus is talking about doing things “to be honored by others” (6:2). It’s a matter of the heart.
It also helps to look at what is described in these two sections of the Sermon.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matt 5:38-39).
I don’t know if I can adequately communicate just how much I wish this passage wasn’t in the Bible.
The Law of Moses contained instructions for how to run Israel’s legal system. One of those rules was to take “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” when someone was injured (as opposed to head for eye and arm for tooth). People had apparently taken that as an individual instruction, using this command as justification for personal revenge. Jesus’ people are not to take personal revenge. More than that, they are to cooperate when people try to abuse them.
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all ... Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” (Matt 5:33, 37).
Truth is a precious commodity. In a world filled with “my truth”, alternative facts, and things that are “true from a certain point of view”, Jesus wants us to be people of Truth.
At first glance, Jesus’ command about oaths is a little puzzling. What’s wrong with making an oath and not breaking it? Jesus’ objection to oaths becomes clearer in another passage:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:27-28).
God takes sexual immorality very seriously, and it often starts with lust.
People do not just wake up and decide to sin. They respond to a temptation, which is then met with another temptation. And another. Where sexual immorality is concerned, that first temptation is often lust.
The problem is not seeing an attractive person and appreciating their good looks. It’s the second look. Looking back to take it in some more. You’re saying, “I’d like me some of that.” And that’s the seed of sexual immorality. From there it’s just one more compromise, then another compromise, and you’ve done something you can’t undo.
