IN another lesson from Jesus regarding discipleship, we are told that trusting God who cares for us should liberate us from our anxieties and make us free to focus on our commitment to God’s kingdom (Matthew 6:24-34).
Focusing on the kingdom of God
The absolute loyalty Jesus demands of His disciples is founded on the truth that no one can serve two masters at the same time. And what can possibly rival our commitment to God, if not wealth? Money or wealth (mamonas = kayamanan) here stands for earthly goods in contrast to heavenly realities. Inordinate attachment to money easily becomes idolatry of worldly possessions. What fills up our consciousness and with what we identify ourselves is what dominates and masters us. What we do accept as our ultimate value dictates our actions and insists that we attend to it wholeheartedly, relativizing other concerns. For the followers of Jesus that cannot be money but the kingdom of God.
To have wealth is not bad; possessions is not being rejected here, but any inordinate attachment to them is incompatible. Jesus is not being naïve or simplistic about our human need for food, clothing, shelter and material support, nor is He espousing laziness or passivity. He is setting our priorities straight and putting our material needs in their proper perspective. God is to be valued above all; only God is master to us, and we serve only God. This fundamental choice makes all other choices fall into place. We know that money cannot be the real foundation of our security; only God can provide us with the real, lasting security.
Overcoming anxiety with trust in God
Choosing God means faith in God’s goodness and providence. Jesus points out that if God provides for the birds and the flowers, how much more does God provide for His more precious creatures, human beings made in His image and treated as His children?
We are prone to be anxious about our daily needs, but we must learn to trust that God provides us abilities and opportunities to procure what we need. We have to be conscious that life is more than just food or clothing. Life is a gift from God; it is more than just an anxious project how to survive. Life is about love, companionship, activities that are ennobling and beneficial to all, etc.
Worrying in itself is ineffective and nonproductive; it accomplishes nothing. Chronic anxiety in its future thrust is paralyzing in that worrying about tomorrow makes today so emptied of living. As it is said, live life one day at a time; take on tomorrow with its own loads when it becomes today.
Frantic worrying, indeed, shows little faith, which means that one has not contemplated on how God takes care of His loved ones, or how the revelation of Jesus assures us of divine providence. To join Jesus on His level of consciousness means to be freed from preoccupation with physical survival and to have one’s life grounded in God and in creative service to others. It is with confidence to seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness.
Alálaong bagá, putting wealth or money concerns topmost in my hierarchy of values comes down to building my life on shifting sands. It is to serve a master who cannot deliver, who cannot actually free me from endless worries. Material possessions cannot secure anyone against death, nor do they automatically bring happiness, much less eternal peace and joy. But we have to get our material needs provided for, so that we can move on to more important projects in life. We need to integrate our money concerns with our real priorities as disciples of Jesus, and always on the alert that perishable goods have the tendency to consume and master us, turning us into slaves and captives and obstructing our full growth as God’s liberated children. In God alone is our fullness and our absolute trust; no substitute satisfies. To follow Jesus is to be confident of the divine love and mercy.
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