So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
—Matthew 6:31–33
Scripture:
Matthew 6:31-33
In today’s devotion, we’re going to talk about the hot-button issue of materialism.
One of the noteworthy—or alarming, depending on your perspective—trends of social media in the twenty-first century is the proliferation of influencers. Influencers are people whose stated purpose is to influence or impact the way you think and act. Not surprisingly, the goal of many of these influencers is to get you to buy something, often clothes or food.
As Scripture would have it, Jesus addressed both topics in His Sermon on the Mount. “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:31–33 NLT).
Notice that His emphasis is on the word worry. He didn’t say, “Don’t think about what you will eat, drink, and wear.” Nor did He imply that we were not to work or plan for our needs.
In fact, the Bible criticizes the lazy person who refuses to work for a living. The Bible says that if you don’t work, you shouldn’t eat (see 2 Thessalonians 3:10). People are expected to work and provide for themselves.
The Bible also encourages us to plan for the future and points to the example of ants, which are always planning ahead (see Proverbs 6:6–8). So, to be clear, the Bible does not advocate laziness or being irresponsible. Jesus simply makes it clear that we are not to worry.
To put it another way, Jesus is saying, “Don’t be obsessed with these things. That’s how unbelievers are.”
You don’t have to look hard on social media to find people whose entire lives seem to revolve around materialistic goals. Jesus was pointing out that those goals are empty. Chasing them won’t satisfy the deepest need of your life.
The apostle Paul wrote, “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others” (2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT). He also wrote, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NLT).
So, let’s not make possessions or material things our primary purpose in life. Rather, let’s seek God first and foremost in our lives. That way, everything that we need will be provided for us.
God will take care of you. He cares about you. He will supply all your needs.
Reflection question: How can you focus on God first and foremost in your life? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!
Harvest.org | Greg Laurie
