Jesus said to his disciples:
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
“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 clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.” MT 6:24-34
Today, Jesus teaches us some important lessons. First, working hard and getting paid a lot of money for it is not a sin. Wealth in and of itself is not sinful, but we all know it changes our perspective on worldly things and can be a major distraction towards God. Money can lead us to believe we have power and are above others, this is sinful. Money can become an obsession, therefore distracting us from God. Recognizing God has given us the talents and opportunities in life to earn great wealth is a great gift that is meant to be shared and given back to Him and others. God is generous, we are called to be generous. The irony in money is that those who have little usually give the most and those who have much are the tightest with it. Last, money leads us to worry because we have more stuff to worry about. This leads us into the next lesson, stop worrying and trust in God. What a difficult task? I worry and have stress all of the time. I am anxious even though it does not show. I have a feeling I am not alone. God knew this would be an obstacle for us. Guess who is behind worry, anxiety, and speeding us up or distracting us constantly, the Devil. He is the great deceiver and does a phenomenal job of making the bad look good and setting us into a frenzy with worry and anxiety. Sometimes worry and stress is legitimate. When we care for our loved ones or feel guilt after we have sinned against God which leads us back to Him. God wants us to trust Him by getting to know Him in prayer and the Scriptures and realize how much He loves us. I have recognized in my own life that when Jesus is a part of my life I worry and stress way more than when I make Jesus the center of my life. Jesus helps me to see what is most important and what I do not need to worry about. I still find myself falling into worry and stress sometimes, but I understand I can control it. How to deal with worry, anxiety, and stress are all over the Scriptures. God knew it would be a struggle for us. All He asks for is to trust in Him. Easier said than done, it is a process. As St. Padre Pio said, “Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry!”
Today’s challenge: Life is meant to live, not getting caught up in money although it is important, and not worrying ourselves to death but learning to trust God. How? Did you pray today? Are you in the state of grace? Are you doing your daily tasks? Is Jesus the center of your life or just a part of it? Then, go live with purpose, passion, and love smiling all the way!
Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO
Recent Comments