Matthew, Chapter 6

Matt. 6:22, 23

Matt. 6:22 "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"

The eye is the body part that is responsible for sight to the body. As long as the eye is in working order, sight of objects is clear and easily identifiable by the whole body. When the eye becomes diseased or we develop double vision, then a darkness settles in and is felt by the whole body. One only need to close their eyelids and walk around to quickly determine the detrimental effects of blindness.

While most people have their natural eyesight, yet a large number of God's people have spiritual blindness. They are walking about in spiritual darkness. What is the cause of this spiritual blindness? The answer is that they have double vision. They have their eye on the world at the same time that they have their eye on God and his word. What they see in the world effects the way that they see and wrongly interpret God's word. They have taken the word of their parents, grandparents, spouses, friends, teachers, etc. over the truth that is set forth in God's word. An example of this is that often parents, grandparents, friends, teachers and preachers have told them that they must accept and believe in order to be born of the Spirit. Yet God's word tells us that we must be born of the Spirit in order to be able to believe. Blindness to this precious truth comes because people have developed double vision. Their vision of God's word is blurred by the false teachings of others.

Once a person has accepted as truth a false teaching or precept, this false belief affects everything that they read or hear about the word of God. An acceptance of the false teaching that one must hear and believe the word of God in order to be born of the Spirit leads to the development and belief of a false works system of salvation.

The cure for this horrible disease of spiritual blindness is to seek, ask, and knock for truth from God. He will give it to you. We must seek from him and be guided by the Holy Spirit, however, if we are to find it. We cannot have one eye on the world and one eye on God and expect to find the truth.

Matt. 6:24

Matt. 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

Several years ago, I was working for an organization and had a supervisor. As is the case with most organizations, there were levels of supervision. My supervisor had a supervisor, who in turn had a supervisor, who in turn answered to the head of the organization. At one time, I was working on a project for my supervisor, another project for her supervisor, another project for his supervisor, and a project for the head of the organization. In effect, I had four masters to whom I answered. As the above states, a man cannot serve two masters much less four. You feel allegiance to one and despise the others.

As children of God, we must decide whom we are going to serve. Rom. 6:16 tells us, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey." We should yield ourselves as servants to obey the Lord.

Some raise the objection that "I have to earn a living." The Lord knows our needs. We must decide where our priorities are. What do we put first in our lives? The Lord dealt with this in Luke chapter nine: Lk. 9:57 "And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

There is a cost to serving the Lord. If we are to follow the Lord, then we should be prepared to have no certain dwelling place or certain place to lay our head. Furthermore, if we are to follow the Lord we should be prepared to go at the Lord's bidding even if our natural father is to be buried at the same time. In addition, saying goodbye to them in our house should not come ahead of going to serve the Lord. To serve the Lord requires a priority of our time, our resources, and our affection. If we give the priority of our time, our resources, and our affections to serving the Lord, then we are yielding ourselves to him as our Master. If, however, we give the priority of our time, our resources, and our affections to serving mammon, then mammon is our Master. We cannot have two masters.

Matt. 6:25-34

Matt. 6:25 "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? 26 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? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 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? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 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."

Anxiety is one of the biggest problems with which God's people struggle. They have worries over many things. If unchecked, they will cause physical and mental health problems to the ones that have them. Truly, children of God have no reason to worry. First, the Lord has taken care of our eternal salvation. He died to redeem us from our sin and according to the covenant of redemption; he sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts and caused us to be born of the Spirit. Likewise, according to that same covenant, Christ will come again and take us home to heaven's glory world at his appointed time. While many because of false teachings think that they must do things to get eternal life. They worry about whether they have done everything they think they must do. They are plagued with this anxiety. The truth sets them free from that worry.

Second, God has promised us that if we seek him first we will have the necessities of life. The necessities of life are food and raiment. In many parts of the world, this is a struggle that many people face wondering where they will have the resources to purchase the necessary food and raiment for their lives and for the lives of their family members. The Lord uses the example of the fowls of the air, that " they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them." The fowls don't sow, they don't reap, and they don't gather into barns, yet God feeds them. The Lord then assures us that we are much better than the fowls of the air. The Lord has the power to feed the fowls of the air. Doesn't he have the power to provide for our food as well? Of course he does, so why should we worry? Will worry have any effect on us getting the necessary food? Worry cannot make us any taller than what we are. We cannot add a cubit (or even an inch) to our stature by worrying.

Concerning our necessary clothing the Lord said, "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?" The Lord has gorgeously clothed the grass of the field more than even Solomon was able to array himself or his family. If God clothed the grass of the field is he not also able and willing to clothe you more than the grass of the field. Again, having anxiety will not assist in any way to clothe our family or ourselves. The Lord tells us not to worry about what we will eat, or what we will drink, or wherewithal we shall be clothed. The Lord knows that we have need of these things. He tells instead, to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things he will add unto us. God has promised that He will see to our necessities if we seek him and his righteousness first. What a wonderful promise from God. There is no need for us to worry about our necessities.

Third, people worry about what is going to happen to us in the future. Will I get some dread disease and if so who will be able to take care of my families needs? Will my children be able to go to college? Will I be able to retire at a certain age? Will I need to go into a nursing home and if so how will I be able to pay the cost? There are many worries that people have about things that might happen tomorrow. Many people do not enjoy life today because they are worried about what might happen tomorrow. The Lord tells us that we have enough concerns today that we do not have to worry about what might happen tomorrow: "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."
Furthermore, if there is anything else that we may find to worry about the Lord has taught us that he will take care of our concerns: 1 Pet. 5:7 "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." Anxiety is a waste of time. It is often a reflection of our lack of trust in God. He has promised to provide for our necessities, he has taken care of our eternal life, he cares for us and will see to our needs and problems throughout our lives. Thus we have no need to worry.