IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 44

What did HE say? (continued)

Thoughts on The Sermon (Part 8 )

The end of yesterday’s post was an introduction to today’s section as we closed it with some dialogue on the meaning of the words take no thought which appear several times in the verses that follow below. As stated, for our purposes we will use the common translation of being anxious but we should remember that just plain thought will work as well in the context of the Master’s words. Also, since this verse begins with the words therefore, we should keep in mind it has a definite relationship to the previous thought which was that No man can serve two masters; we will explore this relationship after we address His words which are:

“Therefore I say  unto you, Take no thought  for your life, what ye shall eat , or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on . Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap , nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider  the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say  unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe  the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought , saying , What shall we eat ? or, What shall we drink ? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed ? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need  of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added  unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought  for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:25-34).

In these verses we have the practical instruction from the Master that the Lord will take care of all things that we, His children, need. He speaks of food, drink and of clothing; he does not speak of jewels and riches and property. The message is that we need not worry, be anxious, be concerned or even think about the things that we need because the Father willingly provides them for us.  Now there is a schism in the church regarding the provisions from the Lord as stated here and elsewhere in the gospels with some in the church teaching that the Lord actually wants His people to be rich and well off. They make specific scriptural claims for this and with this teaching they have been successful in bringing many into the church. It is not our objective here to debate any of this but merely to state and discuss what He says in every regard. Here, in the Sermon on the Mount there is no basis for any claim to riches and fortune; Jesus is telling us in clear language that we will have what we need IF…. The if here is big for it requires that we SEEK His Kingdom and His righteousness. Seek does not require success; seek does not mean that one is in His Presences or has found the Kingdom of God within; seek means that we are looking and in His context that we are looking earnestly. This is where change begins; when we seek the Kingdom and we are focusing on the Kingdom then we are putting our attention on the Kingdom of God. The more and the harder we seek the more we focus. It is in this focusing of our attention on the Kingdom that we focus less on the things of this world. It is here that our whole outlook on life will change. When we earnestly seek, we will find and we can begin down that narrow path and toward that strait gate. This is the whole message of the gospels: seek ye first the kingdom of God. And it  is accomplished by living according to His words. We should remember here Jesus words in the Gospel of John which in many ways are missed by so many: “if a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make  our abode with him” (John 14:23). This is living in the Presences of God and the truth of the Christ Within.

As to the therefore at the beginning of this segment, what can it mean? What is the relationship between these instructions on don’t worry or be anxious or think of these necessities of life and the verse on serving two masters? Let us look at it in this way; we have choices. One choice is that we live in the world thinking about our own provisions and doing what we must to achieve our goals. We work in our own way not only for our necessities but also for our pleasures; we work according to what we have learned and according to our predilection. We move about in the world serving mammon in some context of the word and we achieve or not depending on our effort and our focus. Our other choice is that we serve the Lord; we focus our attention on Him and on His Kingdom; we follow the leading of the Christ Within to do right and live in Love and we achieve or not depending on our effort and our focus. Like anything else, there is a unlimited range of success and effort on both sides of this. To be successful in the world one needs to show effort and diligence. The same is true in the spiritual world; success requires effort and it requires diligence. Moreover, moment to moment our focus can change as well as our effort and our direction and in this way we attempt to serve two masters.

In trying to serve both we fail at both and this is the point that Jesus is making. In choosing one we can find success; success in the world or success in our spiritual life and pursuits.

A similar point is made by the Master in the parable of the unjust steward. Briefly, this is about a steward who is rather devious and is accused of ‘wasting’ his employers goods. For this he is fired and in his deviousness makes arrangements with the former employers debtors to help them and curry their favor. For this he was commended and in Jesus words: “because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say  unto you, Make  to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail , they may receive you into everlasting habitations” (Luke 16:8-9). Now there is more to this parable than this but Jesus is here acknowledging that those that do earnestly serve mammon are, in their way, successful and Jesus says here that they are  wiser than those trying to live spiritually. Why is this? Because they have been schooled in and understand the ways of the world. This is as true or truer today as all our customs and educational systems prepare us for life in the world of mammon. Those of us who break out of this world and that are trying to serve the Lord go out alone because for this there is so little real guidance except that which comes from that inner voice when we learn finally how to listen. The word translated as habitations in the King James Version is translated as tabernacles elsewhere. With either word this is a rather unclear statement. For our purposes today the understanding should be that the forces of mammon will receive us; we can be one of them and among them in their place of success in worldly things for which we are suited. We can’t take it with us however and we will remain in the pain and the suffering that is part of this life in the world; forever wanting and striving for things and feelings and never being satisfied except for in the moment.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. These are the words of the Master. Seek the Kingdom of God and strive to enter into the permanency of His Love and Peace and then share it with all.

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear ? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid ? …….. Wait  on the LORD: be of good courage , and he shall strengthen  thine heart: wait , I say, on the LORD. (Psalm 27:1,14). This is yesterday’s Quote of the Day again. I am not able to get back to my desk to change it at the proper time so please read it again.  It is a great meditation.

Its message is that we should put away all fear. Fear is a great disruptor of lives and can leave one motionless in its wake. It is however naught but our emotional reaction to some unknown which, instead of being lessened by the light of mind, is fed by the darkness of it. This Psalm is a meditation on the FACT that the Lord, the Christ Within and the God without, is the Light that shines on the heart, the personality of man, illumining the mind and giving us strength and our sense of salvation. In the final verse wait on the Lord literally means Look unto the Lord. He is our source of courage; look to the Christ Within, the Soul for courage and He will strengthen our hearts against the fears of life.