19“Don’t
hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust
or—worse!—stolen by burglars. 20Stockpile treasure in heaven,
where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. 21It’s
obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most
want to be, and end up being.
22“Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide
in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. 23If you
live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you
pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!
24“You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up
hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t
worship God and Money both.
25“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows
that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the
clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the
food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes
you hang on your body. 26Look at the birds, free and
unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God.
And you count far more to him than birds.
27“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller
by so much as an inch? 28All this time and money wasted on
fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the
fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never
primp or shop, 29but have you ever seen color and design quite
like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby
alongside them.
30“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most
of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in
you, do his best for you? 31What I’m trying to do here is to
get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can
respond to God’s giving. 32People who don’t know
God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how
he works. 33Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative,
God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday
human concerns will be met.
34“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and
don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help
you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. (Message)
Be wise today and always - look and live "up" for Jesus.