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The principle of security

It is natural for people to seek security of one form or another. In this study we will see that there are two basic types of security and that only one of them really works. Our main Bible passage is Matthew 6.1934:

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.   But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Behold the fouls of the air;  for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no tought, 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: or your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”.

It is immediately obvious that Jesus is speaking of these two types of security. (I) Earthly, that is the security offered by the godless world’s system and (ii) Heavenly, that is the security which comes from heaven and has as its source, God himself.

The seen and the unseen

This diversity of the earthly and the heavenly is also brought out in 2 Corinthians 4:18.

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen:  for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal”.

All of the things around us which are a part of the physical world are temporal, that is, they have no permanence. We have said (refer Principle 10) that through our bodies via our five senses, we have world-consciousness. Our bodies are physical and relate to the physical world around us. Indeed, our bodies are subject to the same change and decay as the world with which they bring us into contact. Only those things seen with “the eye of faith” are eternal. They exist in the spirit realm  the realm of reality, and can never be known via our five senses. As we walk with God we need to be asking ourselves just where we are in reality placing our trust.

In what is our security? Are we seeking security in those things which we see? Do we feel more secure when we have money in the bank than when we have not? Do we draw security from other provisions which we have made to cover the various contingencies which may arise?  Do we find security in such things as a favourable report from our last medical examination? In short, we need to ask ourselves whether or not our feelings of security vary with our outward circumstances.

If we seek earthly security we will become insecure whenever our means of security is threatened, fails or is taken from us. On the other hand, we can be secure in knowing the One to whom we belong and by living in true fellowship with him. You cannot, of course, find security in the unseen things unless you are walking with God. God and not the things which we have or have not, is to be the undergirder of our lives.

The lack of money

In verses 1921 Jesus speaks of “treasure” meaning that which is precious to you and represents a security.  The word “lay” in verses 19 and 20 is also better translated “treasure”.  That which we depend upon is our treasure.  Note that the words of Jesus to “lay not up” and to “lay up” are not mere suggestions, they are commands. We are to practice putting our trust in God and not to disobey him by laying up other securities which become nothing less than substitutes for God. There is no security in earthly security. The point is well made in Luke 12.15-21.

“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness:  for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

And he said:  This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God”.

It is not riches that are the problem, rather it is the place which they occupy in our hearts and the security which they become. Money is intended as a means of exchange and there is no problem with regard to its possessions and use as such. However, there are few people who regard it in such a limited way for it seems, deceptively, to be the key to much security and happiness. The rich man of whom Jesus spoke, saw a bumper harvest as his doorway to security but God had different plans and the temporal nature of his security and his poverty toward God, were graphically revealed as his life was snatched away.

Without doubt, we need to handle money, provide for ourselves and our loved ones and acquire certain possessions. However, the moment we begin to place our security in any earthly thing we are laying up the wrong kind of treasure.

The desire for earthly security

The desire for earthly security comes from unbelief which, of itself, breeds fear and insecurity. Unbelief is a lack of confidence and trust and faith in God.  Once we cease trusting God we find it necessary to make other provisions for ourselves. If God directs your steps, (as he does for all who willingly walk with him) then whatever situation you are in, he is responsible for you.

However, if, after knowing God’s commitment to you, you choose to doubt his absolute reliability and faithfulness, the best you will do will be to provide for the possibility of God failing you whilst seeming to still trust him. The truth of believing God, however, is that we are not supposed to provide ourselves with a second string or a backup plan in case he fails. So you see how initial unbelief causes us to then be afraid and insecure so that we create our own security rather than trusting in God.

For the Israelites, leaving Egypt was no chore for Egypt at that point represented to them a bondage rather than a security.   However, after they had crossed the Red Sea and began their desert journey, their feelings changed. They realised how utterly helpless they were and how totally they would have to depend upon God for their very physical existence. It was then that Egypt became attractive to them. They forgot the lives of slavery they had lead there and instead began to cherish the memory of an existence where they did not have to trust God for their survival. They made a choice and decided that they would rather live in Egypt and be fed there than walk with God across the desert and have to trust him for their food and drink.

The same problem plagues the Church today. Many speak of God’s provision and yet when it comes to the crunch they do not see it as a sure thing. How easily God’s people rush to take the word of a man whilst again and again refusing to stake all on God’s word to them.

Many, when in financial need, would find it far more preferable to depend on a promise of assistance if it came from a man than if it came from God. If we rest in men’s promises but not in God’s, we reveal the true condition of our hearts. If we are truly identified with Jesus, then we need to share his dependance on the Father.

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God”. Colossians 3:13.

Jesus is always totally dependant on the Father. During his earthly ministry, he continually demonstrated that he had no other dependence and, therefore, no other security.  Likewise, the instruction of Paul in 1 Timothy 6:6-10.

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

To have a walk with God and to be content in it and because of it, is great gain. Paul also said in Philippians 4:11 “For I have learned in whatsoever state I am, to be content”. He always rested in the knowledge that so long as he chose to walk with God He would be responsible for, and in charge of, his life. So he trusted God’s ordering of all his circumstances. When a man desires to be rich and sees the things that money can buy as a means of happiness, contentment and security, he has a wrong motivation and then begins to seek ways to get that which he desires. “Foolish and hurtful lusts” simply means, “Foolish and hurtful desires”.

Amongst Christians there should not be a striving after making money. If we do that which we know is right before God, then there must be a trust in God that we will always have our needs supplied whether in the case of the full-time Christian worker who “lives by faith”, or in the case of most Christians where they are receiving some kind of fixed income such as a salary. If God is truly in charge, then regardless of the apparent mode of supply, we need to have it settled in our minds that God is the one who orders our income. It is the love of money and not money itself which is the root of all evil.  (verse 10). Blaming money is like blaming the devil. It should not surprise us that the devil acts like the devil, however, when we allow him to gain entrance or control in our lives, it is our fault. Money is nothing more, nor less, than what it is  a means of exchange.

If we love it, it is we and not money that are at fault. So many of the greatest problems in the world today, the socalled “economic woes”, at every level from personal or international, have their source in the love of money  the quest for earthly security. In fact it is true to say that politics is the servant of economics and that economics is the servant of greed, gain and the lust for power.

In the final analysis it is not the politicians as such but those who control the world’s wealth who are the true masters. Happily, there is a Master greater than they. The words in 2 Timothy 6, however, were written concerning those in the church and we are told that some of these Christians had coveted after money and had erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

The lure of earthly security and the lust of riches can be as deceptive a trap for the Christian as it is for the unbeliever.

Where are you looking?

In Matthew 6:22 and 23 Jesus speaks of that on which we have our eye. That to which we look for our security. Everyone has some kind of aim in life (even if his aim is to not have an aim!) Our inner motivations cause us to focus on the target of our desires. I once took a job selling farm machinery hay balers, mowers and rakes. Even though I was from the city, and had not seen such machinery until about a week before I started selling them to farmers, I quickly immersed myself in the haymaking machinery business. Prior to this I had, on many car journeys through the countryside hardly ever noticed such things as hay sheds yet, once I was involved in selling the machinery that made hay-bales, I suddenly discovered that there were hay sheds everywhere  You see I had developed a new interest and motivation and the things on which I began to focus were a reflection of that.

You will betray your inner desires by the things on which you focus your life. When things get tough and the pressure is on, that to which you desperately reach out for security will likewise betray where your dependance has been all along. That on which you depend that which you desire will show whether your security is earthly or heavenly. We have previously noted 2 Corinthians 4:18.

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal”.

We will now couple this verse with 3:18:

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord”.

If you look at Jesus, that is if your life is constantly focused on him, you will be changed into his image, you will live as he lives, you will know as he knows, you will trust in all that he is. If, on the other hand, you look at those things which are around you, and which seem to provide answers and security, you will become bound to them.

Two masters

No man can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). You cannot serve God and also that which the world offers (mammon). You are the servant of that which is your security. If God is not your security then mammon is. If we do not make God our security in a total real and tangible sense, learning to depend on him, look to him, trust him, walk with him and to know that he cares and will always act on our behalf and for our good, then we will inevitably have mammon as our source of security. We will be seeking to be secure in the things which this world provides and calls “security”, those things which are made to look like security and we will build our lives on them.

Jesus said that we need to make up our minds as to where our dependence for every aspect of our lives is to be.   In Psalm 123:1,2 we read:

“Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.  Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress;  so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us”.

What a beautiful expression of dependence! A servant as described here is in fact a slave, a person without rights. He has nothing of his own and he is totally dependent upon the hand of his master. If his master does not feed him, he does not eat; if his master does not clothe him he is naked; if his master chooses to cut off his right ear then he has no choice but to suffer it. His master is literally the master of his life. Likewise, with the maiden and her mistress.

So the psalmist in effect, says to God, “we have chosen to depend on you in the very same way, we are your love-slaves“.  To learn to depend on God in such a way is total security.

Freedom from anxiety

Verses 25-34 of Matthew 6 speak of freedom from anxiety, the expression “take no thought” literally means, “be not anxious”. It is a joy for God to show us just how concerned and committed he is to meet our most basic needs such as for food and clothing. We may say concerning the “fouls of the air” that they do not consciously depend on God and that their food supply is looked after simply by the course of nature. The truth is, however, that God has designed and set in motion the means of their supply and he likewise desires to be responsible for ours. The difference is that birds instinctively fit in with God’s way whereas we must choose.

If only we learn to make the right choices we will find that God’s provision is at least as well planned for us as it is for them. Anxiety is a destructive thing; it achieves nothing, it wears you out, drains your nervous energy and, of course, it betrays your lack of trust in God.

We are commanded by Jesus to not be anxious neither for the inward man (food) neither for the outward man (clothing).  This anti-anxiety teaching is underlined in Philippians 4:6,7.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

“Be careful for nothing“, here literally means, in nothing be anxious . This statement is as much a command as the words of Jesus but is all embracing whereas Jesus spoke specifically of food and clothing. We are to be anxious about nothing and to trust God for everything.

If you believe God cares, can attend to your needs and will do whatever is necessary, then there is no room for anxiety. Thus it follows that God’s peace, which is beyond all understanding, will keep or preserve (the expression literally means “garrison about”) your heart and mind. It is no good worrying about a situation and at the same time crying to God to give you peace. If you make up your mind to trust God and commit the whole matter into his hands, you will have peace.

The peace of God comes when we do things his way, it is not some kind of tranquillizer that drops out of heaven to calm our anxieties, neither is it a bandaid to place over our anxieties.  When we remove the anxiety, God’s peace automatically replaces it. The peace of God comes when we have settled in our minds that God is in charge of our situation.

Having reiterated his command to not be anxious (verse 31), Jesus goes on to remind us that only faith in God and in his love as our security, can set us apart from those who do not know him (verse 32). If the unbelieving world around us sees that we have the same fears, insecurities and anxieties as they, how can they ever believe that we have a heavenly Father who knows what we have need of and who is, therefore, our provider. He does know and he does provide and we are commanded to live in the reality of that.

The only right priority and the promise

We are to have only one ultimate goal (verse 33). It is our responsibility to set the right priority on our lives. Can you honestly believe that if you seek God’s kingdom first, and a right standing with him, that everything else will fall into place? For if you are afraid that your other needs will not be supplied you will not be able to wholeheartedly seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness without also being burdened and diverted by your doubts and unbelief. To give yourself to God you must forget about periodically checking to see whether or not he is being faithful. The promise which comes with the right priority of verse 33, is of course, that all these things shall be added unto you. The promise is conditional upon the priority.

Final command

The final command (verse 34) is that we dismiss all anxiety for the future.  God has made us to be able to carry only a 24 hour burden at any one time. One day at a time is the rule. If we burden ourselves with past difficulties, problems and fears or if we try to anticipate future problems we dissipate our resources and find that we cannot even cope with the present. Imagine a man, who at the direction of another, is journeying on foot through the most beautiful countryside. However, he is not enjoying the sights and sounds around him because he knows that a little further down the track there is a raging torrent of a river and he is totally caught up with anxiety and worry as to what he will do when he reaches it. Then he does get to the river, however, he finds that the one who directed him had made sure that there was a bridge over it at the point where he was to cross! His lack of trust in another’s provision prevented him from enjoying the present because of his anxiety about the future. Is it any different when we fail to make the most of today because of our lack of trust in God for tomorrow? We need to know how to rest in God.

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fail after the same example of unbelief”. Hebrews 4:911.

In parelleling the Christian life to the journey of Israel from Egypt to the promised land, we understand the crossing of the Jordan River into that land was typifying our entry into a life of trust and dependence upon God. This is the rest spoken of here. We are to labour or “give diligence” to enter into that rest. We do not just fall into it as a matter of course, for to live free of fear, anxiety and insecurity is a deliberate discipline to which we need to apply ourselves. The Israelites had to make a deliberate decision to trust God in the crossing of the Jordan and in the occupying of the Promised land.

Likewise, we are responsible to apply ourselves to obey the commands of Jesus and to choose to make God our security.

About the author

Tony Kostas was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1941, where at the age of seventeen, he committed his life to Jesus at a Billy Graham Crusade. In 1967 he founded the Melbourne Outreach Crusade, a non-denominational evangelistic outreach. This later grew into Outreach International, which is now a worldwide body of believers, who share a God-given calling and are committed to live in love with Him and with one another.

Tony’s life is a true expression of all that God has revealed to him throughout the years, in its purity and focus on loving God. His passion is for God to have the desire of His hears: a people who truly represent Him because they are His and His alone.