Have you ever played that game where one person has to close her eyes, fold her arms over her chest, and fall backward into the arms of friends or co-workers? It's called the "Trust Fall." If you're the person falling backward, you have to trust that the folks behind you are going to catch you so you don't hit the ground.
I thought of that game when reading this passage from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6):
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also....
So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
I suspect the reason we tend to worry is that we're just not sure God is going to be there to catch us. We know God is big and strong, but somehow we're just not convinced that He knows our particular address. We think if something happens to us, God may be otherwise occupied with important cosmic events and not notice us.
But Jesus is saying here, "Think of who you're talking about: your heavenly Father. He's not just powerful, He has a father's heart — in the very best sense of the term. He not only has the power (beyond
measure) but the love, the care, and the concern to take care of what you need."
Do we believe that?
Jesus also says that when we don't trust God, we act like the pagans — nonbelievers. To them, the idea that God might act on their behalf simply isn't part of the equation. But to us who follow Christ, Jesus says, "Your heavenly Father knows what you need. Trust Him."
Our task is to "seek first" (to focus, to live for) God's "kingdom and his righteousness." We're to make the Kingdom our top priority. We do that by investing ourselves in the Kingdom. We decide, by faith, that the Kingdom is where we're going to invest our time, our talent, our treasure.
It all belongs to God anyway.
Guess what? God already knows whether or not you and I trust Him. But how do we know it? It's easy for us to fool ourselves. We can say we trust God, but too often, we're don't trust Him enough to fold our arms, close our eyes, and fall backward, trusting that He's going to catch us.
"But God, I need all of this money. If I give some away, I won't have enough!"
Jesus says, "O ye of little faith. You have a heavenly Father who knows what you need. Trust Him."
Investing in the Kingdom doesn't tell God where our hearts are. It tells us where our hearts are. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
"In God we trust." We do — don't we?
(C) Sound Mind Investing. Used with permission.
Former SMI staffer Joseph Slife is now the senior producer and co-host of The World & Everything in It, a weekly radio program produced by WORLD magazine that can be heard here. He spent 15 years with Crown Financial Ministries, co-writing articles with Larry Burkett and serving as executive producer for broadcasting.
Publication date: June 27, 2012