Matthew 6:31–33
«“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye need all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
These are the things the Gentiles seek, and they distinguish them from the children of the kingdom.
They spend their lives pursuing what they will eat, drink, and wear. By contrast, the people of God’s kingdom seek God and His righteousness, trusting that these necessities will be provided.
King Solomon sought wisdom to govern God’s people, and God added riches, wealth, knowledge, and understanding to equip him for that responsibility.
When you seek what is right, the other things God has prepared for your benefit will follow. How can God, who created all things before placing man in the garden, fail to provide for those He created?
How can the One who brought you into the world without your knowledge fail to provide for your sustenance?
What you seek influences how God answers your prayers and grants your requests.
Gentiles and believers do not seek the same things. Greed creates the distinction, because those who are governed by it come under the dominion of the lust of the flesh, which Adam inherited through the Fall.
Whoever comes under this power will never find lasting satisfaction or arrive at a true understanding of the matters they study.
The desires pursued by the heathen gave rise to witchcraft and satanism. Many became involved in cultism because they pursued food, drink, and material security, sacrificing their future on the altar of greed.
No one welcomes suffering, especially when it concerns food and drink. Everyone desires enough to eat and to provide for others.
This is the dominant concern governing the lives of many unbelievers. They enter politics to satisfy their greed and create opportunities for their children and grandchildren to avoid want.
They commit unimaginable acts to satisfy their greed, becoming detestable in the sight of God, yet they remain unsatisfied.
Satan tested Jesus to determine whether any trace of this desire existed in Him, hoping to disqualify Him and bring all humanity down with Him.
He urged Jesus to turn stones into bread to satisfy His hunger, but the Lord refused and placed the Word of God above earthly pleasure. In doing so, He prevented the lust of the flesh from consuming humanity, which was created in the image of God.
Unfortunately, many have fallen into this pit and are unable to escape. They have turned stones into bread, and that bread has ultimately become a source of bondage to their appetites.
This is what the heathen seek, but our heavenly Father has provided everything we need through redemption.
How can you board a plane bound for another country and remain anxious about whether food and drink will be available? Everything you need for the journey has already been provided as part of your ticket.
You have entered the journey of salvation toward eternity. Why, then, are you anxious about what you will eat and drink when the price has already been paid through the provision of salvation?
Whatever you need to survive on earth was prepared before you were born. You fail to perceive it because your focus is not fixed on the kingdom. These provisions are found within the kingdom.
Ignorance of what God has prepared causes Christians to become anxious about what they will eat and drink.
Satan visited Jesus and found none of his attributes in Him. Yet many people have compromised their eternity for the bread and butter of this world.
They replace the nourishment of their souls through the Word of God with bread and fish that feed the body. They sell their souls to the devil to avoid hunger in this world, only to defer that hunger to eternity. Which is better?
To suffer hunger for a limited time on earth, like Lazarus, or to suffer hunger for eternity, like the rich man?
Which is more important: the bread and water of life, which strengthen the soul, or the food of this world, which perishes?
Jesus said:
«“Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.”»
Sadly, many Christians have exchanged eternal nourishment for food that perishes.
God warned us not to pursue what the Gentiles seek. This is what distinguishes the children of the kingdom from the children of the world.
The children of the kingdom seek God above all else. They do not need to pursue temporary things to the point of becoming a burden to the kingdom and the world.
People of the world build houses in every location to secure their children’s future. They acquire properties at home and abroad through illicit wealth to protect their families from hunger and want.
They kill one another over inheritances because of what they will eat and drink.
They misappropriate public resources to preserve themselves and secure their children’s future. This is the extent of their pursuit of what to eat, drink, and wear.
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
No wonder the more they acquire, the more they fear death, because their hearts are fixed on the earth rather than on heaven.
Why are many people involved in cultism today? It is because they pursue material provision.
Why are there so many armed robberies and kidnappings? It is because of the pursuit of material provision.
People enter politics in large numbers because of what they will eat. They offer sacrifices to the powers that be to secure their future against hunger.
Because of food, people take their lives out of God’s hands and place them in their own. This is the danger caused by the pursuit of material things.
It has penetrated the fabric of humanity and caused people to lose sight of what truly matters.
When food is involved, relationships no longer seem important. Since Adam ate from that tree, the lust of the flesh has dominated the will of humanity.
Jesus came to conquer it for us, and until we hold firmly to the victory of the cross, it will continue to drag us toward the bottomless pit.
The solution is to exalt the Word, which is the bread of life, above the physical bread that perishes. We must live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Some Christians have neglected their souls while feeding their bodies, denying themselves every spiritual necessity of life and ultimately entering eternity to face hunger and thirst that will never end.
Prayer: Father lord, deliver me from the power of greed by your precious blood, in Jesus’ name, amen.