A Better Approach to Life
Theme: God calls us to live above the daily grind.
Text: Luke 12:22-34
Here’s a thought: Eleanor Roosevelt concluded, “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.”
Miss Jones, an elderly spinster, lived in a small Midwestern community. She had the notoriety of being the oldest resident of the town. One day, she died, and the local newspaper editor wanted to print a little caption commemorating Miss Jones’ death. However, the more he thought about it, the more he became aware that while Miss Jones had never done anything terribly wrong (she had never spent a night in jail or had ever been drunk), she had never actually done anything of note. While pondering this, the editor went down to have his morning coffee and met the owner of the tombstone establishment in the little community. He poured out his soul to him. The gravestone maker confessed that he had been having the same problem. He wanted to put something on Miss Jones’ tombstone besides “Nancy Jones, born such and such a date and died such and such a date,” but he couldn’t think of anything significant that she had done.
The editor decided to go back to his office and assign to the first reporter he saw the task of writing up a small article suitable for both the paper and the tombstone. Upon returning to the office, the only fellow around was the sports editor, so he gave him the assignment. If you pass through that little community, you will find this on her tombstone:
Here lie the bones of Nancy Jones,
For her life held no terrors.
She lived an old maid. She died an old maid.
No hits, no runs, no errors.
How can you and I really live? In Luke 12:22-34 Jesus gives us the formula for a better approach to life:
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 32 Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” NIV
A heavenly perspective comes to those who:
Look Out (Luke 12:22-23)
Anxiety is often found today in people’s hearts, around the kitchen tables of families and our communities. It should come as no surprise that we are too often feeble and weak in our faith, for Jesus describes the unproductive hearer of the Word of God in Matthew 13:22:
The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. NIV
In the same way that faith connects us to the Lord, unbelief hinders our relationship with Him. Unbelief attacks us in three areas:
1. It undermines our trust in Christ as Saviour, causing us to try to work for our salvation.
2. It assaults our increasing victory over the power of sin in our lives, limiting our spiritual growth.
3. It attacks our ability to live out our calling to evangelize and reach out to others, making us ineffective in our service to the Lord.
Someone concluded, “I never worry. I’ve got enough money to last me the rest of my life … unless I buy something.”
Unbelief gnaws at us from many different angles, but the most fundamental source of it is our pride, our natural tendency to rely on our wisdom and strength rather than God’s. It also arises from our inclination to please others by fitting in with our culture.
With its focus on temporal and immediate gratification, the Western worldview has become increasingly at odds with the Biblical worldview. Watch out! Many who profess to be Christians connect the existence of God but tend to disconnect Him from daily life. We might confess faith in Him but live like atheists. Yet the Bible speaks of our Father as active in our world and its events by sustaining and governing His creation and intervening personally in our lives. From His Word, others’ stories and my experience, I know that God is faithful. We can strengthen our faith by:
1. Trusting God to do His part.
2. Doing our part.
3. Allowing God to love us.
We can overcome unbelief by doing all the Lord enables us to do. Faith is fragile, and we should do all we can to protect and nurture it. Instead of carelessly exposing ourselves to vain philosophies and people who do not share our beliefs, we ought to exercise wisdom. Even Jesus was careful to remove Himself from the influence of unbelievers when necessary. This is a matter of spiritual warfare. The constant battle we face is not our biggest problem. It is when we stop resisting unbelief that we have a problem. Christianity is not faith in a creed or a system of rules but a relationship with the God of heaven and earth.
Beware! Look out! Worry and faith are like oil and water - they do not mix.
What characterizes your life? Are you known as a worry wart? Do you conceal a lot of your anxiety? Beware! Worry will sap our spiritual strength.
A heavenly perspective comes to those who:
Look Out
Look Up (Luke 12:24-32)
Jesus pointed to the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. So great was the scarcity of fuel that even dried grass and withered flowers were used for making a fire. They were carefully gathered and carried in bundles, sometimes in the arms and sometimes loaded on donkeys. Even though the birds and the flowers do not labour or store the fruits of their labour, God cares for them. If God cares for these lower forms of life, how much more will He care for people who are made in His image?
A thin line separates a proper concern for the necessities of life from the anxiety about them that Jesus criticized. Most of us do not have to worry about these basic needs. Canada’s relatively high standard of living ensures that all of our necessities will be provided. But how quickly the things we once considered luxuries become necessities! Then, we become anxious when we can’t have the things we see advertised. When the neighbours have better houses, furniture, cars, electronic devices, lawnmowers, boats and vacations, how can we be content with what we have?
We also become anxious about things other than material possessions. We can become unduly concerned about our appearance, social standing or health.
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) concluded, “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.”
It is not enough to guard our minds against worry; we must fill our minds with the Word of God. The Apostle Paul reveals his secrets for successful living in Philippians 4:4-9:
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. NIV
The key to pursuing the results God intends for our lives is to plug into His agenda. We have experienced the “tyranny of the urgent,” with time and energy consumed by activities having little to do with ultimate goals. We must learn to say no to the good to say yes to the best. Jesus knew His mission. At the end of His earthly life, Jesus said to the Father in John 17:4, “I have … completed the work you gave me to do.”
Let’s picture ourselves on our 90th birthday and imagine what people will say about how we fulfilled our roles as we interacted with them over the years.
Single out the three or four priorities most important to you. List your dreams about your life and work. Name your strengths and ask what changes need to be made.
What did you do this last week to build your faith and renew your focus? Are you reading your Bible? Are you memorizing Scripture verses? Are you asking the Holy Spirit to counsel you and help you apply His Word? Receive the Heavenly Father’s promises for provision and refuse to let the birds of worry nest in your hair.
A heavenly perspective comes to those who:
Look Out
Look Up
Look Around (Luke 12:33-34)
Jesus concluded with a truth that at first seems backward. He explained that where your treasure is, there your heart will be. I would probably have said it the other way around: where your heart is, there your treasure will be. But Jesus understood better than I that things pull on people’s hearts. A few may be able to resist this pull, but most of us succumb sooner or later to the subtle magnetism of things. If we generously invest our material wealth in eternal pursuits, we will find our heart goes with it.
Money is not evil or sinful, but the love of money is (see 1 Timothy 6:10). The Apostle Paul firmly directs the wealthy in 1 Timothy 6:17-19:
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. NIV
After buying a $2,000,000 insurance policy before a plane trip, a traveller received this message in a fortune cookie, “A recent investment may pay big dividends.”
Who or what can you invest in? What type of people or service for others do you have a growing desire to pour your time and money into? Remember - the world and its pursuits will pass away, but God and people will live or die forever.
The army of Alexander the Great was advancing on Persia. At one critical point, it appeared that his troops might be defeated. The soldiers had taken so much plunder from their previous campaigns that they had become weighed down and were losing their effectiveness in combat. Alexander immediately commanded that all the spoils be thrown into a heap and burned. The men complained bitterly but soon came to see the wisdom of the order. Someone wrote, “It was as if wings had been given to them, and they walked lightly again.” The victory was assured.
Pause for a moment and take stock of your life. What are you pursuing with your daily and weekly priorities? What is being held near and dear to your heart?
If we allow ourselves to become weighed down with the cares of this world, we will soon lose our focus on eternity. A heavenly perspective comes to those who:
Look Out
Look Up
Look Around
God calls us to live above the daily grind.