Matthew 6:19-34 – The Father’s Provision, Part 2

Last week we looked at how we can, when praying “Give us this day our daily bread,” ignore the fact that we hold onto treasures that are not the true treasures of the Father and his righteousness. This week I’d like to address one of many possible reasons Jesus may have placed “Give us this day our daily bread” in the position he did in the Lord’s Prayer, and how the Sermon on the Mount helps us understand this prayer.

We all have money, to one degree or the other. Some have just enough to meet their needs, while others can satisfy every one of their wants as well. And while I’m not here to tell you how the Father, through the Spirit, might lead you to spend your money, I do think the Father has entrusted many of us with money for reasons other than our own luxuries.

Most people save money for good and prudent reasons; a new hot water tank, a new refrigerator, a new car, education for our kids, health bills, and more. This sort of saving and use of money seems to be wise. In fact, Paul writes, “if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (I Timothy 5:8). Living in a van down by the river hoping that God will mysteriously provide for your family is probably not the most Christ-like thing we could do. We are called to take care of those who rely upon us for their well-being. And while we often think of this as being our immediate family, it also may mean aging parents, grandparents, as well as widows and orphans.

But these are not the sort of expenditures that Jesus addresses in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus addresses how we treasure our wealth. Jesus places the call to pray “Give us this day our daily bread,” immediately after the prayer for the Father’s kingdom coming and the Father’s will being done. Our prayer for the Father to do his work on earth is not a passive prayer; it requires us to seek how the Father would have us involved in his work. Once Jesus ascended to heaven, we became the Father’s hands, feet, and mouth here on earth, and so this prayer asks the question “How does the Father want to use us?”

In other words, the proper use of our highly valuable things is for the support of the Father’s kingdom not the satisfaction of our own wants and the pursuit of luxuries. We must ask if we, by our use of our highly valuable things, stifle or support the growth of the Father’s kingdom and the fulfillment of his will on earth?

I am reminded of a dialogue between God and Israel as found in Malachi 3:8-9,

God: “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.”
The Israelites: “How do we rob you?”
God: “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me.”

The Israelites had stopped giving to God the tithe he had demanded of them. But God demanded of them more than a literal tithe—10% of their income—when all was counted, he asked for something more like 23%. Yes, according to the Old Testament Law, the full tithe required of the Israelites was closer to 23% than 10%. Put that in your pipe and smoke it! But, instead of what God had demanded, the Israelites stopped giving their tithes to the Lord so they could have more things for themselves. So yes, they were quite literally robbing God.

Okay…wait a minute. Are you saying that we need to give 23% of our income to God?
No, I am not. We are no longer under the Mosaic Law of the Old Testament.
Phew! That was a close one.
But we are expected to give, cheerfully, and in the way in which God has blessed us.
Okay…but what does that mean?
Well, if Jesus tells us to pray for our daily bread—to depend on the Father to meet our needs—then maybe we should think about the reason why many of us have been blessed financially beyond what is necessary for our “daily bread.” Maybe we don’t need as much as we buy. Maybe we have been blessed so as to help with the Father’s work as he brings about his Kingdom and his will to earth. Maybe our financial blessings are intended to be used in ways that support the sorts of things the Father wants—his desires.
Okay…so what are the Father’s desires? What is it that the Father wants?
Isaiah answers that question when he wrote, “Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17) Jesus also answers the question when he tells how the Father will separate the sheep from the goats. The Father says to the sheep, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Matthew 25:34-36). But the goats, the Father says, are those who did none of that.
Are you saying I can’t buy cool and nice things for myself?
Well, that’s between you the Father and the Spirit, but keep in mind that Isaiah also wrote, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that you may live.” (Isaiah 55:2-3) Do we buy cool and nice things to satisfy ourselves? Are they the things we highly value in life? Have they become our treasures? Or is there a better use for our financial blessings, a use that will allow us to be part of the Father bringing his Kingdom to earth?
Oh. Uh…let me think about that…

As an alternate option to spending our money on those things that we think might satisfy us, Jesus tells us to “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). It seems obvious from that passage that our basic daily needs are the things that the Father will provide. And so he tells us to set our heart on the Father’s kingdom and his righteousness.

Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people.” The acts of righteousness that Jesus described were 1) giving to the needy, 2) praying, and 3) fasting. Interesting, don’t you think? We practice our righteousness when we give away what we have, when we pray, and when we fast. In so doing, we learn to rely upon the Father to satisfy our needs. Maybe placing our total reliance upon the Father is the only way we can honestly pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Again, I don’t think this means that we need to live in a van down by the river and hope that God mysteriously sends us food three times a day. But I do think this means we must ask ourselves some very difficult questions; questions that the ancient Israelites may not have asked, or at least didn’t answer properly. Remember, they were judged by the Father because they robbed him and did not give liberally to the Father’s work. They wanted more for themselves so they could live a life of comfort and luxury. To avoid becoming like the Israelites, I think the following are some questions we must ask ourselves:

Do we hoard our treasures for our own wants and desires?
Do we use our treasures to take care of our family in its time of need?
Do we use our treasures for things that hinder the growth of the Father’s kingdom?
Do we use our treasures for things that stop God’s will from growing in our own lives?
Do we rob God by not giving liberally to the growth of the Father’s kingdom?
Do we rob God by not giving to those people and places that are furthering the Father’s will?

Do we really pray—with all the implications involved—the words Jesus gave us when he told us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread?”

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