And why do you worry …?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 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, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

— Matthew 6:28-34

Last week we examined the exhortation that we should not wear ourselves out to get rich. Rather, as leaders of our homes, we should invest ourselves in the things that producing lasting treasure. In response, some might say, “I’m not trying to get rich; I just want to put food on the table, put clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads.”

Stated this way, worry can seem almost noble. “As the head of my home, I have to be concerned about the basics. I am not thinking about getting rich. I am just trying to survive.” But It is a huge temptation for the responsibility of financial provision to crowd out responsibilities that are even more important.

Someone is probably asking—what is more important than providing for my family? Well, Christ says later in Matthew that the most important commandment is to love God and your neighbor. So your work must be done in the context of loving God most. Jesus puts it this way: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Providing for your family is certainly part of seeking God’s kingdom, but it is not the major part.

We live in an unstable, unpredictable world. Jobs can be lost overnight through corporate mergers. The economy is uncertain. Our ability to work may be terminated around the next corner. Yet Jesus still says, “Do not worry about what you will eat or wear.” He will provide these things for you. He wants, instead, for your main focus to be seeking life that is truly life (I Timothy 6:19).

Here is one definition of worry: Worry is attempting to take responsibility for things that can only come from God. For example, God has commanded us as men to work and in so doing provide for our families (I Timothy 5:8). But in Matthew 6 Jesus is teaching that food and clothing come from him. It is easy to think that I go out and earn a paycheck, and that puts food on the table. God is so intimately involved in our lives that we easily lose sight of just how dependent we are on him. The apostle Paul tells the people in pagan Lystra, “God has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." So even though these people worked their fields and harvested their crops, God actually provided the food on their tables. If this is true for those who don’t know God, how much more is it true for those who do know him?

You are responsible to work, as God has called you to do. But he is responsible to provide your food and clothing. We become worriers when we are dominated by taking that responsibility upon ourselves. Christ makes a direct promise that he will provide for our basic needs (vs. 33 above).

This passage helps you to determine your priorities. Is it wise leadership to pursue things that, while good for the moment, can lose their value in a heartbeat? What is the real value of these good things when you find out that your wife is leaving? That your teenager has a sexually transmitted disease? What is really important? Jesus says his kingdom and his righteousness are most important.

Fathers, when we don’t have time to invest in our children to prepare them for the teenage years, because we think we have to work long hours to provide food for the table, we are taking on a responsibility that belongs to God and, at the same time, neglecting a responsibility that is ours. We become worriers. Your teenager will be thrown into a culture where sexual contact, masturbation, and pornography are the norm. Destructive language and the music of self-gratification will fill his mind. The pressure to enter the flow of the culture is enormous. How much time are you investing to prepare your children for this? Are you depending upon your children being involved in soccer, dance class, music lessons, Little League and extra curricular activities to keep them from the dangers of the world? Are you perhaps thinking that your wife, or perhaps teachers at church and school, will be the ones to get the job done? Fathers, your relationship with your children must be so vital that they will look to you for help when the teenage culture attempts to pull them away from God.

If you are not currently raising children in your home, what are other ways this passage applies? What are some ways you can seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness in your home? In your community? At work? At church?

This week in your meetings talk about the priorities of life. Whose kingdom are you pursuing? How much of your self-worth depends on providing by your own hard work the physical necessities that God has promised to give when we seek his kingdom and righteousness?

Invest Wisely

Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
have the wisdom to show restraint.
Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle. —Proverbs 23:4-5

T. Rowe Price … Chuck Schwab … Ameritrade … Scottrade … Fidelity

These investment firms are frequent visitors in your home. No, they aren’t invited guests. They attach themselves to the televised sporting events that are the favorites of American men. So, just after your team scores, Chuck Schwab shows up, encouraging you to make wise investments using his brokerage firm. Just as Chuck is saying goodbye, the owner of Scottrade flies by in his helicopter to let you know how his firm makes investing affordable. These commercials are then followed by a commercial for Lexus. The message is clear: security and peace of mind come from making wise investments and making your money grow. Things provide accomplishment and stability. While it is good to save and plan for the future, your security lies elsewhere.

The above passage from Proverbs gives very different advice than your friendly investment broker does—Solomon reminds you that the future is not as secure as you are led to believe. Luke 12:13-34 also talks about making wise investments. Christ urges his hearers to invest in things that will not wear out.

This warning from Proverbs is a sharp, pithy reality check The vivid language evokes startling mental images—imagine your 401K account suddenly sprouting wings and flying off into the sunset! Again, these Proverbs are not warning against wise saving and investments (see Proverbs 13:11); what they are warning against is trusting in savings or investments to be your security. Many folks have strong portfolios but are relationally and spiritually bankrupt.

These proverbs say, Don’t spend your energy to become rich!!! Or, as the TV commercials say, don’t wear yourself out for financial security. The balance here is to identify what you are investing yourself in. As Paul teaches in Philippians 4, neither wealth nor poverty has any real value of its own. As men we often think in the long-term. So we justify not investing time with our wives and children because we are building for the future—for their future. The warning is that all of our efforts can fly off in a heartbeat. The greatest and most secure gift that you can give your wife and your children is taking the time to show them the love of Christ in the middle of your busy, hectic life.

Use this passage to think about your investments. What are you giving yourself to (wearing yourself out for)?

Closer than you might think!

Proverbs 8:32-36

32 "Now then, my sons, listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.

33 Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not ignore it.

34 Blessed is the man who listens to me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting at my doorway.

35 For whoever finds me finds life
and receives favor from the LORD.

36 But whoever fails to find me harms himself;
all who hate me love death.

How would you respond with biblical wisdom to situations like the ones presented below? The article is from the Boston Globe, January 31, 2008

BOSTON—A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Lexington parents who objected to same-sex families being discussed in their children's elementary school classrooms.

Tonia and David Parker of Lexington sued school officials in April 2006 after their son brought home a book from kindergarten that depicted a gay family. Joseph and Robin Wirthlin joined the suit after a second-grade teacher read the class a story about two princes falling in love.

In a ruling Thursday, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a judge who ruled in February 2007 that parents' rights to exercise their religious beliefs are not violated when their children are exposed to contrary ideas in school.

"Public schools are not obliged to shield individual students from ideas which potentially are religiously offensive, particularly when the school imposes no requirement that the student agree with or affirm those ideas, or even participate in discussions about them," the court said in its ruling.

Suppose your child came home from school and reported these events? How would you respond? How would you help your children and your wife deal with issues like this? This is not a situation in which a one sentence answer will do.

How can you apply the wisdom of Proverbs 8? Specifically, what will you tell your children about what was read to them at school? What actions should you and your wife take to prepare your children for these events? Is there anything that can be done in your community to alert people to the real possibility that this could happen here? How can your church help you with this situation? What resources and study tools do you need to wisely respond to these issues? Note the implications given in verses 35&36. Life and death, favor and harm depend on finding wisdom or not finding wisdom.

Spend time thinking about this so you can have a good discussion in your ministry group for this week. Also, why not take a moment to comment on our blog as well. These events are closer to us than we would like to think!

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The Super Bowl

7 I saw among the simple,
I noticed among the young men,
a youth who lacked judgment.

8 He was going down the street near her corner,
walking along in the direction of her house …

24 Now then, my sons, listen to me;
pay attention to what I say … (Proverbs 7:7-8, 24)

Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. Because everything that belongs to the world— 16 the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God's will remains forever (1 John 2:15-17).

Proverbs 7 shows a parent looking out his window at the world around him. This father used the view from his window to instruct his son about the dangers of life. The window of your television affords you the same opportunity to see and evaluate the world. The Super Bowl is a good example, in both the game and the commercials. The commercials cost approximately 3 million dollars for a 30 second spot (and that does not include the production costs). The companies who sponsor these commercials believe that they will appeal to what motivates Americans.

I John 2 carries a strong warning: do not love the world. The enemy of your soul is doing his best to make the world attractive to you and your children. He wants you to love the world! You can learn a great deal about the motivations of our culture by observing the commercials in this game thoughtfully. Analyze them. Then, like the wise father in Proverbs 7, give this analysis to your children.

How do you react to the Super Bowl? What does that reveal about your priorities? Will you be overly discouraged and disappointed if your team loses? Or, if your team wins will you experience a joy that appears only at moments like that? How does your enthusiasm for a sports victory compare to your response when Bill preached on what heaven will be like? If you have children, what are you teaching them by your responses?

If you don’t even watch the Super Bowl, that’s fine. But is there something else that captures your interest in the same way the Super Bowl does for many? If there is, then evaluate your priorities relative to that activity.

What are examples of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's lifestyle?

Can you enjoy the Super Bowl without “loving the world or the things that belong to the world?”