Scripture: Matthew 6:33-34
Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Thought for the Day: In the Common English Bible Translation, the heading for this section reads: Worry about Necessities. It’s a little like saying, “Don’t sweat the small stuff” that was so popular a few years back. It is good advice! A problem exists, though, when Christians take a phrase from this passage out of context. For example, I recently heard a pastor reference online this phrase, “…all these things will be given to you…” as if faith is the key to worldly treasures. Really? I see a lot of amazingly faithful Jesus followers who are living in or near poverty. The central desire for a follower of Jesus is God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness. If that is the case, then we are declaring our commitment to the vision of God’s kingdom which is that of peace, justice, compassion and mercy. And we are also declaring our commitment to God’s righteousness which is right-living, or to say it another way – it is the necessary life to reveal and make real the kingdom attributes of peace, justice, compassion and mercy. For those who strive for such things, they will discover how God has already granted them such things.
Prayer: O God, may your kingdom be my guiding star and your righteousness the example of how I am to live. Though I will not always be successful, I ask for your forgiveness and your encouragement. Amen.
