Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  

Matthew 6:19-20 

What can we do to prepare for an eternal future? As Christ is preaching the Sermon on the Mount, He draws a distinction between the temporal and the eternal. He clearly delineates the difference between the earth, and that which is earthly, versus heaven and what will last for eternity. He says we should not lay up for ourselves treasures on earth. As we have said before, this does not exclude appropriate care for basic necessities, rather it aims at a preoccupation with accumulating what will never last and is subject to corruption and loss. He turns our attention to what is, as He terms it, ‘treasures in heaven,’ pointing out that those things are incorruptible and incapable of loss. What is this that is eternal and incorruptible?  Mark 8 gives us help in our understanding, ‘For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?’ At the bare minimum, our soul is eternal. In fact, as far as Christ is concerned, it is of more value that all the tangible, temporal things we can accumulate in this scene of time. This brings the value of our soul into stark contrast with the vast wealth of the earth. Therefore, if we want to view reality from Christ’s perspective, we will begin to view wealth, and our attention to the accumulation of it, in a totally different way than what is common in our society.  

Our Wise and Gracious Savior, 
we rejoice that You teach us what to value most. 
We praise You that as we learn to view things from Your perspective, 
we begin to see the eternal more clearly. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  

Matthew 6:34 

How will worry influence tomorrow’s outcome? Christ is turning the thoughts of His audience from the earthly and temporal to the spiritual and eternal. He is addressing natural human thought. It is natural to worry about the future. Christ makes the pithy remark, ‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.’ He is essentially saying that whatever tomorrow brings, worry will not change it. He is contrasting worry with faith that brings us to seek first the kingdom. He had already illustrated His point by saying, ‘Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they.’ He went on to use the glory of the lilies of the field as another illustration of God’s provision. All throughout the passage Christ is turning our thoughts away from fearfulness about the future to faith in Him Who holds the future. What comes tomorrow will come whether we worry about it or not. ‘Tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.’ We have the privilege to know the Lord of tomorrow. He knows what we will face tomorrow and all the outcomes. If we can trust Him with our soul’s salvation, we can trust Him with everything that will occur. Therefore, we need not worry about tomorrow.  

Great God of Wonders, 
we rejoice that You see the end from the beginning. 
We praise You that all that will occur 
is in Your Almighty Hands. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  

Matthew 6:34 

What about tomorrow? As Christ is preaching His Sermon on the Mount, He addresses the issues that matter most for time and for eternity. He puts into perspective what is important and give us His perspective in order that we may, learn to view things as He does. The heart of true spirituality is seeing things as God does. This causes us to behold reality in such a way which will be different from anyone who takes the human perspective without regard for God’s view. To take the solely human perspective leads to high anxiety regarding the future. That is the ‘tomorrow’ of which Christ is speaking. Does this mean we should not have a savings account, insurance policy, or retirement plan? No, it is not a prohibition of any of these provisions. Rather, it is Christ’s way of bringing us to look to Him as the One Who holds all our tomorrows. We have no genuine control over tomorrow. We cannot know what it will bring. We could not control the events of tomorrow even if we did know what they are. Christ does know what tomorrow brings and has control over every event. What do we know? We know we can trust Him. This reduces our anxiety significantly. We know Him Who holds tomorrow.  

Our Wise and Sovereign God, 
we rejoice that You control all our affairs. 
We praise You that You work  
everything together for our good. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning