“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…”
Matthew 6:33
One of the heart-wrenching discoveries we made as our new children began spending the night with us were the food remnants we found on the floor and the large pieces of bread and other food we found in pockets. Our youngest boy, especially, always took leftovers at mealtimes and snack times and kept his pockets full for later. It clearly demonstrated how often he had gone without basic food. He had spent most of his life hungry.
God’s children do not need to stuff their pockets at the buffet line. God will supply what we need when we need it, as we obey Him: “Do not be anxious about anything…” and “Each day has enough trouble of its own…”
American evangelicals do the exact same sort of thing as this small Ukrainian orphan. We get hold of stuff that makes us feel like we’ve got something and hang on tight thinking, “Now I’m secure. Now I’ll have food for tomorrow. Now I’m going to be okay.” That’s a pauper mindset. God’s children are not paupers.
When our attitude is, “I’ve got to get and I’ve got to keep,” that’s a pauper mindset. That is not the mindset that Jesus teaches us. He says, “Your heavenly Father already knows everything you need and He’ll supply everything you need. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Everything you need will be given to you…” This doesn’t prohibit us from having a savings account or doing financial planning. But it does mean that our attitude should be one of spirit-led stewardship instead of carnal greed or anxiety.
Trust is the attitude of the child of God. That is the attitude of a person who is part of the eternal Kingdom, because our goal is no longer acquisition for self and self-preservation. We follow in the footsteps of One who said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” He said, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” He said, “Whoever would be the greatest must become the servant of all.” He said, “Whatever you do for the least of these, I will consider as having been done for me.”
Even from a selfish, carnal standpoint, what the Puritans termed “enlightened self-interest,” it would make sense to serve God. If you wanted to do something for somebody so they’d owe you a favor, wouldn’t it be fun to do it for somebody rich and powerful? If you’re going to get to do something that touches somebody, think how neat it would be to do something to impress the President. Imagine how wonderful if Bill Gates could say, “Thank you so much. I owe you a lot.”
God tells us, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done.” God considers himself as the recipient of a loan whenever you and I give to the poor. How stupid of us to set our sights on trying to impress the President or Bill Gates or anybody else in that echelon, when by going directly to the least, we have an opportunity to touch the heart of the One who has all resources, the creator of heaven and earth, the owner of everything, the Sovereign Lord. He says, “I tell you the truth. What you did for them, you did for me.” That sort of changes our investment strategy, doesn’t it?
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