One of the many wonderful blessings of serving God instead of Mammon is freedom from worry. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the desire for other things, and the pleasures of life are four of Mammon’s heaviest chains of enslavement. But, when your focus is upon laying up treasures in heaven instead of upon earth, there are at least four compelling reasons for the cessation of worry and anxiety in your heart.
The first two reasons are stated by Jesus in Matthew 6:25-26. Here, it is written: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
Laying up treasures in heaven stops worry because it harmonizes with the real reason for your life on earth. “He who dies with the most toys wins” is a lie. The reason for your existence on this planet is far more than feeding your belly and covering your body.
In his sermon titled “Ecclesiastes”, Solomon describes his extensive search for meaning in life. He tried everything—pleasure, frivolity, sensual gratification, horticulture, construction, possessions, wealth, and the arts (2:1-9)—and promptly declared “all was vanity and grasping for the wind” (2:11). The conclusion he came to after all of his research was “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (12:13-14).
Laying up treasures in heaven stops worry because it reflects an accurate understanding of the value of your life in the eyes of God. God’s providence extends to all His creatures—humans and birds alike. If God can provide every bird with the necessities of its life, He has the knowledge and ability to provide the earthly necessities you need.
Unlike the birds, however, God spared not His Son but delivered Him up for all humanity (Romans 8:32). What greater value He has placed on you than the birds! If He has provided for each of us all the spiritual necessities we require, on what grounds is it reasonable to doubt His providence concerning our physical bodies?
