How many of you have seen what I call “the Walmart kid,” screaming in unholy terror because he isn’t getting something he wants? It must be so difficult for a toddler to understand why he sees all those shelves full of awesome toys and every kind of candy imaginable, and yet he can’t have it. He still hasn’t learned to control his physical desires and to be content with what his parents say is for his best. It is a growing process that requires some patient yet firm discipline.

This kid resides inside of all of us to a degree. We may simply call it our flesh, or our physical appetites and desires, but nevertheless, he has his moments of begging for what he wants and throwing temper tantrums when he doesn’t get his way.

I doubt many of us would confess to greed or materialism, which is the “Walmart Kid” to the extreme, and that is likely not your struggle. However, if we are honest, and we look at our financial habits, we may recognize that that he may have more control of us than we thought. I know; that is NOT a pleasant thought!

Don’t believe me? Why do you think it is so difficult to tell ourselves “No” when we go shopping and are tempted to spend money we don’t have? Whether it is that shoes or purse, going out to eat, or buying expensive coffee… We want it, and we often give in, even when we know it is not the wisest choice.

Why do you think the majority of Americans struggle with debt and financial management? The car payments, the monster mortgage, the department store credit cards, the loans, and keeping up with all the latest technological gadgets that we simply cannot go without can leave us stranded in a cesspool of debt and stress that seems impossible to find our way out. It is not that these things are necessarily bad, but it’s the “Walmart Kid” inside that temps us to bite off more than we can chew.

Jesus’ teaching goes far beyond mere indulgence. For many of us, times are just hard, and financial stress can be unbearable. There are times when there is simply too much month at the end of our money, and this is a much different category than the “Walmart Kid” syndrome. Your problem may not be because of lack of discipline, but you may have experienced a layoff, a medical emergency, or a traumatic loss from fire, storms, or theft. Your perspective will be quite different, and Jesus knew that there would be times we would be consumed with financial anxiety.

Sometimes our worries are not based on our wants, but on our needs. There are some who aren’t even sure where the money will come from for food and clothes, much less for the luxuries. Sure, you may be able to afford rice and beans, but is it wrong to want to eat well? Is it wrong to want more than peanut butter and Ramen noodles? Eating out and buying Starbucks is one thing, but for some, this is about being able to afford groceries.

Additionally, I don’t think anyone of us is walking around naked, but what is wrong with wanting nice clothes? How do we balance this?

Jesus understood this when he lovingly illustrated the stories of the sparrows and the lilies. Aren’t you of much more worth? Won’t He also take care of you? He knows what you need. So relax and trust Him. Seek Him first, and everything else will fall into place.

So, where is the line between running after worldly pursuits and merely recognizing our essential needs? How do we ask for our needs to be met without allowing ourselves to be mastered by worry and anxiety?

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

We have covered all of these topics this week in our study of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:19-34.

Greed
Earthly treasures vs. treasures in heaven; Where is your heart?
Guarding your eyes from what tempts you
What is your master? Money or God?
Worry and Anxiety concerning our basic needs, not necessarily greedy desires
Running after things that perish vs. trusting God to meet our needs
Seeking the Kingdom of God first
Being anxious about the future

Jesus had much to say about money, and it is a much-debated topic in modern Christianity. We often see the extremes of manipulative, prosperity teaching that goes way too far, but the other extreme of demanding poverty and living with shame and false humility can be just as dangerous. Money is not the problem, but it is a matter of the heart, or the attitude toward money. The “love of money,” or greed, or idolatry, “is the root of all evil.” This condition of the heart can be just as problematic whether one is wealthy or impoverished. A poor person can worship his checkbook or make his constant worrying and pursuit of money as much of an idol as a wealthy person.

God longs to bless His children, but it is not so we will “get all we can, can all we get, and sit on our cans.” He blesses us so we will generously bless others, and that we will enjoy his blessings for his glory. The key in all of this is to keep our eyes and hearts tuned in to Him! He will take of our needs, but the bottom line is to “…Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 ESV

Week 7 Assignments

Read Matthew 5-7
Study Week 8: “Do Unto Others,” pp. 106-121; Matthew 7:1-12
Attend a small group.
Watch my video for this week.
Memorize this week’s Bible verse, Matthew 7:12 ESV

So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Week 7 Discussion Questions

Here is a sneak peek of the questions we will be discussing this week in our small groups.

QUESTION 1: What do you think is meant by the phrase, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21)?

The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matthew 6:22-23 ESV

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:14-15 ESV

QUESTION 2: We read examples this week of people in Scripture, Eve, Achan, and David, who saw something sinful, were tempted by it, gave in to it, and suffered great consequences as a result. When you “see” something that tempts you, what can you do to stop this process of sin before becoming ensnared by its grip?

Think about this passage for a moment, and consider the wording of the literal translation in the ESV, as well as the paraphrase in The Message:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:15-16 ESV

Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. 1 John 2:15-16 MSG

Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

QUESTION 3: After reading the verses in 1 John, as well as the statement from Jesus in Matthew 6:24, how are these verses related? Is it always wrong to have wealth? When can money be a blessing from God, and when can it become our master and turn our hearts away from God?

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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? Matthew 6:25 ESV

MATTHEW 4: What are some things that make you anxious? What can we do about anxiety and worry?

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. Matthew 6:32-33 NIV

QUESTION 5: What does it mean to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness instead of “running after all these things?”

QUESTION 6: What impacted you most in this week’s passage from the Sermon on the Mount? What are the words of Jesus regarding treasures and worry asking of you personally?

Reading Schedule

October 9-15, Study Week 8: “Do Unto Others,” pp. 106-121; Matthew 7:1-12
- Small groups: Discuss Week 7
October 16-22, Study Week 9: “A Foundation That Endures,” pp. 122-137; Matthew 7:13-29
- Small groups: Discuss Week 8
October 23-29: Catch Up Week and Finish Study
- Small groups: Discuss Week 9

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