Matt 6 deals with treasure (6:20-21), clothing (6:30), food & drink (6:31-32).
When instructing the Twelve, Jesus made the following statement:
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father aknoweth that ye have need of all these things. aBut bseek ye first the ckingdom of God, and his drighteousness; and all these ethings shall be fadded unto you (Matthew 6:31-33)
At issue: Christ knows what you need and will take care of your needs. This is one of the overarching principles in the Sermon on the Mount. There are many verses of scripture that deal with how we should handle wealth. Phillipians 4 illustrates that Jesus Christ will meet our needs:
I can do all things through aChrist which bstrengtheneth me. Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did acommunicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire afruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and aabound: I am full, having received of bEpaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your aneed according to his briches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Phillippians 4:13-19)
In this section of Paul’s letter, he is expressing gratitude to the Saints in Phillipi. When Paul was in dire need, they stepped up and gave financial assistance to him. For this he is eternally grateful. Paul expresses the sentiment that the Lord will take care of His servants. We see this idea taught in other places of scriptures as well.
A way to help the youth to see the relevance of this passage is to have them think of a time when the Lord has met their needs. I believe that if we allow Him, that the Savior can meet all of our needs in healthy and balanced ways. In fact, it is usually when mankind tries to meet his natural needs in ways not prescribed by the Lord that he gets himself into trouble. I like the following thought expressed by Spencer W. Kimball:
Jesus saw sin as wrong but also was able to see sin as springing from deep and unmet needs on the part of the sinner. This permitted him to condemn the sin without condemning the individual. We can show forth our love for others even when we are called upon to correct them. We need to be able to look deeply enough into the lives of others to see the basic causes for their failures and shortcomings. 1
A great cross reference for Matthew 6 is John 4, the story of the woman at the well. Here Jesus tells the woman, “drink of this water and you shall never thirst” (John 4:10). John continues this line of reasoning when he reports the Bread of Life sermon in John 6. Here Jesus states, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:48-53). Doing things His way, living our lives according to the example He has prescribed, we will find the greatest happiness afforded in mortality.
How the Savior Meets Our Needs
“God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other. The abundant life is also achieved as we magnify our view of life, expand our view of others, and our own possibilities. Thus the more we follow the teachings of the Master, the more enlarged our perspective becomes. We see many more possibilities for service than we would have seen without this magnification. There is great security in spirituality, and we cannot have spirituality without service!” 2
Notes
1. Jesus, The Perfect Leader, President Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, August 1979 pp. 5‑7.
2. Spencer W. Kimball, The Abundant Life, Ensign July 1978.