In His Sermon on the Mount, among the many exhortations spoken by Jesus, two are found in Matthew 6:19-34. Jesus' first exhortation in these verses emphasizes the importance of storing treasure in heaven rather than on earth. He says: “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” (verses 19-20). Jesus' second exhortation addresses our preoccupation with worrying about earthly treasure: “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?” (verses 25-27) 

Both exhortations seem counterintuitive to the modern mind. After all, aren’t we supposed to eat, wear clothes, live in houses, and steward the things with which God blesses us? Is Jesus really telling us to abandon all earthly concerns and treasures? Yes and no. The Father knows that we need material goods, but He does not want us to be weighed down by what we have or lack. Even though He knows we need these things and more, He doesn’t want us to make them the center of our lives. Jesus reminds us that no one can serve two masters. We cannot serve God and mammon. Not only that, no matter how hard we try to protect our treasures from moths and thieves or how much we worry about what we have and don’t have, no amount of vigilance or worry will guarantee our treasures are safe or add a hair to our heads or a moment to our lives.

So, what is Jesus’ answer? First, we should focus on accumulating treasure in heaven by keeping our hearts centered on God’s goodness. Second, we are to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness above everything else (verse 33). Jesus makes it clear that if we make this world and its worries our priority, we will never run out of things to worry about. So, let’s make the collect (prayer) for this Sunday a response to Jesus and His challenging exhortations. Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, as we live among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.