As our holiday sermon series closes, we stand at the threshold of Term 4. Soon, the familiar routine resumes. Schedules will fill, and the subtle pressure to secure our lives, build our safety nets, and elevate material prosperity can easily re-claim our focus.
It is precisely here that Jesus meets us in Matthew 6 with a stark, liberating truth: we cannot serve two masters.
Jesus isn't merely giving financial advice; He is revealing a law of the human heart. What we value most inevitably pulls our entire inner life into its orbit. Wealth- what Jesus calls Mammon - is never a neutral tool. It promises security whilst quietly making claims on our allegiance. Trying to hold God in one hand and financial self-reliance in the other creates a divided heart where anxiety easily takes root.
Worry over tomorrow is simply the flip side of materialism. Both spring from living as though we are unsupported, isolated individuals in this world. Yet Jesus points us to the birds of the air and the wildflowers of the field: if God lavishes such care on transient creation, how much more will He care for His own children?
As we step into this new school term, Jesus offers a radical alternative:
'But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.' (Matthew 6:33).
To enter the term with an undivided focus means making God’s kingdom rule our primary compass. When first things are kept first, our work, finances, and plans find their proper place - not as demanding masters, but as gifts under our Father’s providential care. Let us step forward in trust, resting in today’s grace.