Set your hearts on His Kingdom and on righteousness first
In today’s gospel Jesus teaches us how to set our priorities right. Our Heavenly Father knows about all our material needs, and he cares and can provide. Ours is to set our hearts on his kingdom first and on its righteousness, the rest will be given to us. We also need to fully concentrate on the task of the day. When we do this, there is actually little time left to worry about tomorrow, and when tomorrow comes, there is enough for that day.
The reading starts with the statement that you cannot serve both God and money, for no one can serve two masters. The implication is that we must choose the master to serve, and the reasonable thing to do is to choose God as our Master. The consequences of choosing money as master are not difficult to see. We observe them every day. You have only to read a news paper or listen to the news on television, to see all the corruption and embezzlement of public funds, which is the cause of so much pain and deprivation on others. Even in the churches, it is not uncommon to observe those who have gotten into trouble over money.
At the same time, we cannot do without money. Not only do we need to eat and drink and clothe ourselves. Often enough we have responsibilities over others which require a lot of money. Salaries and wages must be paid, renovations made, utilities and taxes must be paid. If we have relied on foreign assistance, that cannot go on forever. To compete in the money economy in order to generate an income requires a lot of focused efforts.
Jesus teaches us that we can indeed generate money without having it as our master. If raising money is part of our daily assignments, we can dedicate ourselves to it, as fully as part of our daily work without being anxious about it. If money is not forthcoming as we would like it to, we can content ourselves with a simpler life. It may be that the Heavenly Father who takes care of us, has decided in his wisdom that this is what is best for us under the circumstances. If our focus is working for God’s kingdom and growing in righteousness, we shall discover that things work out for our good eventually due to the Father’s providence.
