The theme of the passage that I have chosen to call, Living for the Kingdom, is widely and firmly upheld by the rest of the New Testament. This ethical passage is for members of the Church today. Its principles are presently applicable.
In Matthew 6.19-34 we have instruction from Jesus on the lifestyle of a disciple. The climax of the passage highlights the pattern’s aim, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6.33.) There are two topics addressed in the lifestyle pattern: treasures and essentials. For each one a principle is given by which to bring about the desired end. These principles are: fixing the eye, and fixing the mind. Disciples of Jesus ought to live lives that reflect the dominion that God is said to have over them. They are commanded to live under God’s dominion, in light of his kingdom to come. By properly fixing their eyes and mind, God’s will may be done in their lives, his blessed dominion may reflect outward to onlookers, and his kingdom will be made attractive to at least some of the sinners who are eating, drinking, and making merry on their way to hell.
Before looking at the passage of which Matthew 6.33 is a part, an important qualification must be solicited from another part of Scripture. In Acts 5 the right to private property, and therefore of its disposal as the owner sees fit, is unmistakably affirmed. Ananias and Sapphira are not reproved for not giving all their property away, but for lying about doing so. “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own?” A justification for confiscation cannot be gotten from Scripture ‘whiles’ Acts 5 remains a part of the New Testament. Any law requiring any person to give anything that he owns is not a biblical law. Persuasion is the only medium that the New Testament endorses with respect to what a Christian should or should not own. There is an obligation to pay taxes; that is another matter. A Christian may become as rich as he wants to become. No one has the biblical right to stop him. The question is: Should he pursue this course? A Christian may pursue this course in order to procure the means to bless the less fortunate. The question is: Is he really motivated by a desire to relieve the poor? A Christian might become rich by way of inheritance, reward for service in his calling, or even by accident. The question then is not: How should his money be wrenched from him? The question is: What is the Holy Ghost prompting him, through his devotional exercises, to do with his gains? And what progress is he making, while rich, in a religious sense? Are millionaires more attached to, or more detached from, their Bibles? We all know the answer to that question. You know of an exception? The exception proves the rule. Televangelists are rich; but they are, for the most part, prosperity promoters, not Bible teachers. These Bible wavers are seldom Bible lovers; and rarely are they ‘heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ’ (Romans 8.17.) Televangelists are not entirely bad; no one is; this is why my remarks on them are qualified. As wrong on eschatology as Jack Van Impe was, nonetheless he was used by the Lord to draw me into God’s kingdom.
