Daily Devo w/ Pastor Eric September 6, 2021
The Importance of a “therefore…”
Matthew 6:24-34 “No one can serve two masters.
Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. “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? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow
or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are
you not much more valuable than they?
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how
the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that
not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is
how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is
thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So
do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What
shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly
Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do
not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own.
I noticed something I never did
before. Usually, the section that is grouped together is the verse that starts
“Therefore I tell you…” and following and that makes sense because the whole
section is about worrying. But the
section starts with “Therefore.” This means that the business about not
worrying is linked to what came just before.
Jesus says “you can’t serve God and money,” so “therefore, do not worry
about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will
wear.” The implication is worrying about
these things actually puts me in danger of serving money rather than God. I never made connection before, but from my
experience I know that’s true. There
have been too many times when I got so worried about bills, expenses, and the
like that I began to think that what I need more than anything else is more
money. That is, by definition,
worshipping money. And I can only really
worship one thing at any given time.
That’s how worry takes us away from worshipping God.
So worry is a natural thing, but it
can be dangerous. When we find ourselves
plagued by worries, it is a sign that we are moving away from God. That’s what
Jesus is saying when he reminds us that “pagans run after these things.” His alternative is to return our focus to
seeking God’s kingdom. I think there are
many possible ways to do this. A few
things that have helped me are: (1)
gratitude, which helps me focus on what I have versus what I don’t and what’s
good in my life versus what’s not. (2) worship, particularly music because it
speaks to the deepest part of me. (3)
Doing for others, because it shifts the focus off of me to someone I can help
or bless. What about you?
Question: What helps
you from being swallowed up by worry?
Prayer: God, help us
stay out of the kind of worry that takes us away from you. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for flood victims throughout eastern US in the wake of Hurricane Ida
Song: for KING &
COUNTRY – joy. (Official Music Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA7n7TwPDmw&list=RDAxH8Q8ue65o&index=15
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