“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:19-34

Dear God, I think it all comes back to idols. It seems to be, sitting here this morning, that I could replace the words “worry about” with “make an idol of” and it would capture Jesus’s meaning.

The other line in here that really got me was, “And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” Oh, my. Is the light I think I have actually darkness? How can I tell. I’m sure the Pharisees at the time thought they had light, but Jesus called it darkness. There are some national Christian leaders who have embroiled themselves in politics that I would say have confused darkness for light.

I was listening to statistics this morning that said that the overturning of Roe v Wade a few years ago has actually led to more abortions overall in our country. Yes, some states have seen a decrease, but others states have seen an increase and have even strengthened their laws supporting abortion. So was the “light” of overturning “Roe” a light after all, or was it the beginning of a backlash that would actually lead us into further darkness through hardening of hearts.

I’m getting on a tangent now, but I think one of the most damaging things Christians can tell non-Christians when defending a position–whether it be abortion, gay marriage, or even the environment– is, “Because the Bible says so.” Why shouldn’t I lie? Well, there are all kinds of reasons why you know it is not best for me to lie and I can articulate many of them. Why shouldn’t I steal? Why shouldn’t I commit adultery? These are all pretty easy to explain, and that is one of the things we tell our children when we are teaching them your values and right from wrong. “God doesn’t just make up rules to make up rules. He does them because he knows they are what’s good for us.” And that makes sense. But when we look at something like gay marriage or same sex relationships, too often we abandon all of that nuance and just say, “Because God says so.” And that’s a very judgmental thing for a LGBTQ+ person to hear.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I have really digressed off of the original passage from the Sermon on the Mount that I have above. I wanted to talk about idols and how they fail us. I wanted to talk about putting my faith in you. But maybe some of us have made idols out of these issues as well. We think if we can just get homosexuality purged from our land then you will reward and bless us. It’s not about the sinner. It’s about the sin and saving ourselves from their sin. So help me to prayerfully work through these issues in the way Jesus would have me. Help me to lead with love and humility, worshipping you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and then loving my neighbor as myself. I offer all of this to you, flawed as I might be.

I pray all of this under the mercy of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection,

Amen