things of this earth

Contentment Versus Covetousness

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“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look 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? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” – Matthew 6:25-34 ESV

If, as Jesus has suggested, we are supposed to be laying up treasures in heaven and not on earth, why do we spend so much time to worrying about the stuff down here? And if, as He has already pointed out, our hearts are to focus on heaven, where our treasure is, then shouldn’t the things of this earth have far less appeal to us than they actually do? And yet, as followers of Christ, we find ourselves just as anxious about and attracted to the things of this earth as anyone else. We have financial concerns. We worry about how to pay the bills and put food on the table. We get anxious about everything from the brand of clothes we buy to where we’re going to take our next vacation. But Jesus reminds us “not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear.” Then He asks us, “Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25 NLT).

Those people sitting on the hillside listening to Jesus’ message were probably a lot more justified in worrying about these kinds of things than we should be. They were most likely common laborers, farmers, and fishermen. Their daily life was a struggle to provide food and decent clothes for their families. For the fishermen, the next catch was never a sure thing. For the farmer, his hard work preparing the soil and planting the crops was never a guarantee of a good harvest. He was at the mercy of the weather and the whims of nature. So, when Jesus tells them not to worry about life, it is as if He is telling them not to breathe. 

The real issue Jesus seems to be addressing here is faith or the lack of it. He even refers to them as “you of little faith” (Matthew 6:30). Their worry and anxiety reveal their lack of trust in God. Part of their problem was that they were putting all their stock in the things of this earth. They were consumed by worry over material matters. Their “treasure” was not in heaven but on this earth. They were expecting all of God’s blessings here and now, in the form of earthly treasures. But they weren’t even trusting Him to provide those things. They worked for them and worried about them. They struggled to provide for themselves, rather than trusting God to give them what they needed. And like so many of us today, they believed the solution to their problems was always more money.

Yet, Jesus told them, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24 ESV). In their culture, money was a sign of God’s blessing. It was tangible proof that you were approved by God. But Jesus is telling them something quite different. Followers of God are to put their trust in Him. They are to turn to Him for their needs, whether it be for clothes or food.

While God may choose to provide money as a means to meet those needs, money is not to be seen as our savior. God alone provides what we need. He may choose to bless us with little or with much. He may determine that our needs are far less than we believed them to be. The clothes God provides for us may not be the brands or styles we prefer. But if our real worry is about being clothed, the label on the garment should not matter to us.

The problem seems to be that our worry revolves around status, not survival. Few of us are anxious about where we are going to get our next meal. But we do get concerned about how many times per week we get to dine out. Our worry is not about putting food on the table, but about the quality of life we desire.

Our constant anxiety over things reveals our lack of faith in God. It also exposes our love affair with the things of this earth. Too often, we seek our satisfaction in material goods. We attempt to find our self-worth in the quantity and quality of our possessions. Our houses, clothes, and cars become outward symbols of our status. And yet, Jesus would ask why we worry about all these things. He would want to know why we don’t trust God to meet our needs. God cares for the birds of the air and the flowers in the field, so what are we so worried about?

Jesus even reminds us that thoughts of food and clothing “dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs” (Matthew 6:32 NLT). God knows our needs. So, maybe the problem is that we have failed to ask God what it is we really need. We have our list and He has His. We bring our lengthy catalog of concerns to Him and demand that He provide every item on it and on our timelines. And when He doesn’t, we get concerned and, sometimes, even angry. We wonder why He doesn’t love us, why He doesn’t provide for us. But too often, we have simply turned wants into needs. We have allowed our love for the things of this earth to replace our love for God and our faith in Him. We measure His goodness based on what we believe to be His generosity. The more He gives us, the more we think He loves us. But Jesus reminds us that God promises to meet our needs. And our attitude should be like that of Paul:

I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. – Philippians 4:11-13 NLT

Contentment versus covetousness. That’s the problem. We must learn to trust God, to put our faith in Him, knowing that He loves us and has our best in mind. God has promised to meet our needs. And He has also assured us that our greatest treasure is laid up for us in heaven, not on this earth. We are citizens of another kingdom. This world is not our home, and the things of this earth that we spend so much time coveting and worrying about will not last. They will rust, decay, and fall apart because they are temporal. They are what the unbelievers seek and desire.

But as children of God, our treasure is to be elsewhere. Our trust is to be in something other than the things of this earth. We are to trust Him – for everything. Which is why Jesus tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33 ESV). We are to long for His kingdom, not our own. We are to seek His brand of righteousness, as made available through faith in Christ. The quantity of our treasures on earth is not an indicator of our right standing with God. The number of material blessings we seem to enjoy on this earth is not to make us think we are somehow blessed by God. Our treasures are in heaven. Our hopes are in God. And our faith should be strong because our God is faithful.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. – Colossians 3:1-2 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Colossians 3:1-17

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Heavenly Minded.

Colossians 3:1-17

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. – Colossians 3:1-3 NLT

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “Some people are so heavenly minded that they’re no earthly good.” The gist of that statement is that we can become so focused on spiritual things that we never do learn to live them out on a practical level. While I agree with the general idea, I think there are very few of us who suffer with this problem. In fact, I don’t believe there are that many Christians today who are truly heavenly minded. Sure, we think of heaven on occasion, when a loved one is nearing death, we attend a funeral, or when we’re going through a particularly bad spell of trials with no end in sight. But for the most part, if life on this earth is going well, we tend to think about the things of this earth. We enjoy the things of this earth. And before we know it, heaven becomes an afterthought. It becomes that nice reward that awaits us some time in the distant future. But for now, our minds remain set on earth. And that’s understandable, because we’re human. We have a human nature, which for the most part, is synonymous with our sin nature. It’s what Paul called “the flesh.” That part of us that is of this world, and longs for and craves the things of this world. In fact, our “flesh,” as Paul describes it, is in love with this world, and it is opposed to the things of heaven. One of the greatest battles we face as Christians is an internal one. It takes place between our sin nature and the new nature provided for us by Christ’s death and the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. Paul told the Galatian church, “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other…” (Galatians 5:17 NLT)

Paul knew full well what this war within was like. He shared his first-hand experience with it in his letter to the Romans. “…if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?” (Romans 7:17-24 The Message).

So what’s the cure? Paul gives the answer in the very next verse: “The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does.” Jesus provides the answer. He not only provided for our salvation, but He made possible our ongoing sanctification, by giving us the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit. We have a power source available to us that is like no other. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. But Paul reminds the Colossian believers that they have to reset their minds, reconfigure their thought processes. They need to focus their attention on the things of heaven – where Jesus Himself is and where our future lies. This world is not our home. We don’t belong here. It is a temporary holding place, but is not intended to be our permanent residence. And it is not to garner all our attention. It should never distract us from the reality of heaven and the eternal nature of our souls.

Over in Romans 13, Paul warns his believing readers, “…make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lusts” (Romans 13:13-14 NASB). The Greek word translated “make no provision” means to “know ahead, to have forethought.” It conveys the idea of preparing ahead to sin. We actually provide for sin in our lives by cultivating a climate in our minds in which it can grow and prosper. How do we do it?

–        By focusing our thoughts on the wrong things

–        By concentrating our attention on impure things

–        By participating in the “deeds of evil and darkness” that mark this world

–        By applauding evil and rationalizing our involvement with it

–        By glamorizing sin and growing complacent about wickedness

–        By refusing to expose sin in our own lives and the lives of those around us

–        By becoming lazy about our lifestyle and flippant about God’s will

–        By failing to recognize that we live in evil times

That’s why Paul says, “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” This was a common theme for Paul. He told the believers in Philippi the same thing. “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8 NLT). The things we fill out minds with are incredibly important when it comes to how we live our lives. Paul reminds us to “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you” (Colossians 3:5 NLT). So rather than feed the flesh, we need to starve it. He goes on and makes it even more specific. “Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires” (Colossians 3:5 NLT). And I don’t think he is restricting our involvement in these things to the purely physical level. He is also addressing our thought lives. He are to have NOTHING to do with these things. That includes not watching others act them out on TV or in the movies we watch. He also tells us to refrain from greed because it reveals that we worship and love the things of this world. He warns against anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, lying and dirty language. All these things are characteristics of our sinful human nature. But we have a new nature and are being renewed into the likeness of Christ by the indwelling power and presence of the Holy Spirit. But we have to fix our minds on the things of heaven, not the things of this earth. We have to desire what the Spirit desires, not what the flesh desires. Paul makes it clear in Galatians 5:19-21 what the fruit of feeding the flesh looks like. But he also tells us what fixing our eyes on heaven looks like. When we live heavenly minded lives, we will exhibit heavenly minded fruit: tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, and peace.So what are you going to fix your thoughts on today?

Father, we are surrounded by the things of this world and it is so easy to become fixated on what we see. We can’t see heaven and we can’t see You. But give us a heavenly perspective that allows us to see the things of heaven more clearly with each passing day. Help us to live by faith, because “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT). Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org