Jesus was in Galilee, speaking to a large crowd of people from many places. (Matthew 4:25) Few if any of those people were wealthy. Likely, most were poor. Yet, Jesus urged them to give priority, not to the gaining of material wealth, but to the storing up of something far more valuable—spiritual treasure. (Matthew 6:19-21, 24) He said: “Stop being anxious about your souls as to what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your bodies as to what you will wear. Does not the soul mean more than food and the body than clothing?”—Matthew 6:25.
To many of those listening, Jesus’ words might have sounded impractical. They knew that if they did not work hard, their families would suffer. However, Jesus reminded them about the birds. Birds live from one day to the next, yet God cares for them. Jesus also pointed to the way Jehovah provides for wildflowers, the beauty of which surpasses that of Solomon in all his glory. If Jehovah cares for birds and flowers, how much more so will he care for us? (Matthew 6:26-30) As Jesus said, our lives (souls) and bodies are far more important than the food we buy to sustain our lives and the clothing we obtain to cover our bodies. If we devote all our efforts merely to feed and cover ourselves, with nothing substantial left for serving God, we miss the very purpose of living.—Ecclesiastes 12:13.
Of course, Jesus did not encourage his listeners to stop working and wait for God somehow to provide for their families. Even the birds have to search for food for themselves and their young. Thus, Christians had to work if they wanted to eat. They had to care for family responsibilities. Christian servants and slaves had to work diligently for their masters. (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12; 1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Peter 2:18) The apostle Paul often worked as a tentmaker to support himself. (Acts 18:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 2:9) Still, those Christians did not look to secular work for security. They trusted in God. As a result, they enjoyed an inner peace unknown to others. The psalmist said: “Those trusting in Jehovah are like Mount Zion, which cannot be made to totter, but dwells even to time indefinite.”—Psalm 125:1.
Anyone who does not trust firmly in God might think differently. The majority of humans view material wealth as a major key to security. Hence, parents have encouraged their offspring to invest much of their young adulthood in higher education, hoping that it will prepare them for well-paying careers. Sadly, some Christian families have found the cost of such an investment to be very high, as their children have lost their spiritual focus and turned to pursuing materialistic goals.
Hence, wise Christians realize that Jesus’ counsel applies as much today as it did in the first century, and they try to keep a balance. Even if they have to spend long hours in secular work in order to care for Scriptural responsibilities, they never allow the need to earn money to blind them to the more important spiritual matters.—Ecclesiastes 7:12.
