Bobby McFerrin made a great deal of money and gained a great deal of popularity with his song "Don’t Worry, Be Happy." The song had a nice beat to it and Bobby’s voice sounded so unique with a bit of a Carribbean beat in the background. We might be tempted at first glance to say that in this passage Jesus is telling his followers "don’t worry – be happy." But if we look closely, we will see that Jesus is not advocating for us to bury the things that concern us in order to place a smile upon our face. Jesus’ appeal to not worry does not simply ask the listener to not concern him or herself with anything about life. Instead, Jesus is telling his disciples to not worry in order that they may trust more deeply in God.

In this passage, Jesus sets out two choices for living. He says you cannot serve both God and wealth. Let’s take a close look at what we know about each of these two choices.

The first option – God. We know God from the descriptions of the mighty deeds God has done for the Israelites. We also know God through Jesus – who is called God-with-us (Immanuel). We also know God through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The second option – wealth. This option translated "wealth" in the NRSV, "money" in the NIV and "Mammon" in the King James is also well known to us. If we look around us, we see a great deal of wealth. By simply living in the United States, we have a lot of wealth surrounding us. From any money that we have in the bank to the roof we have over our head – we have a lot of wealth. But that isn’t all that this word means. This word means "that which we put our trust in." Martin Luther acknowledged that whatever we put our trust in, in effect, becomes God to us. For some, what they put their trust in is wealth from cash to possessions.

So on one hand we have almighty God who has been a consistent companion for the people from the dawn of creation, through tumults in exile, and finally as a flesh and blood companion in Jesus Christ. On the other hand, we have stuff – the almighty dollar, the almighty possessions. Possessions - those things which Jesus talked earlier about rust and moth destroying. Those things which are not consistent companions but last only for a fleeting time.

So the choice that Jesus is laying out to the group of people who have gathered on the mountain to hear him speak is do you follow the almighty God in whom we live and move and have our being or do we follow something else – these things that we call our possessions, which can easily possess us?

I can picture Jesus looking out across the mountains as he delivers this message and pointing to the birds soaring across the sky, dipping down to catch up a morsel of food. "Look at them, they’re so carefree as they soar through the air." Then scanning down to the blossoms that cover the countryside, "Look at the beauty here before you. God cares for the birds and the blossoms whose existence is fleeting. How much more then will God care for you, you who were created in God’s own image." Jesus really knew how to pick an illustration.

Just before this passage, Jesus has taught his disciples how to pray for their daily bread – reminding them that in everything – from each morsel that passes through them to their very existence they are utterly dependant upon God. Jesus tells his disciples, "Don’t worry. Don’t concern yourself with what you’re going to eat or drink or what type of clothes you will have in your closet because God knows what you truly need."

Now just when we think that Jesus has finally gone too far. After all, we need funds to buy food – we can’t just go and pick up food anywhere. The money for the mortgage has to come from somewhere. Jesus says what it is that he does want us to worry about – what it is that he wants to be our major concern. Jesus says, "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Jesus says don’t worry about all the things you need because God knows what you need. Instead, worry yourselves about what God is doing. Rather than working for the god of wealth, work for God’s kingdom.

Jesus is calling for a change in the basic orientation of our life. Rather than orienting ourselves toward acquiring stuff that after all will not last, we should orient ourselves toward God’s kingdom. Throughout Matthew’s gospel, Jesus speaks of the kingdom in specific ways. For Matthew, the kingdom is not some far off in the future kingdom that will come only after Christ’s second coming. God’s kingdom in Matthew is right here, right now. We only have to have our eyes and ears opened to see God’s kingdom in the world.

One of the ways that we can begin to see God’s kingdom in the world is to change our basic orientation to the world. We must change from orienting ourselves from pursuing wealth to pursuing what God would have us be and do. We must stop looking around at all the things we posses and look around at all that God would have us do. We must open our eyes to see where God is calling us to be and what God is calling us to do.

Tony Campolo, a contemporary theologian, would call it being Christ to one another. We have in Jesus an example of one who truly has a kingdom orientation. What does it mean to have a kingdom orientation? Christ has answered that too: to feed the hungry, love your neighbor, clothe the naked, offer forgiveness on top of forgiveness, shelter the homeless. This is what it means to be Christ to one another. This is what it means to have a kingdom orientation.

But let me tell you – changing one’s basic orientation to life is not easy. The voices of the god of wealth are loud and abundant. Striving for the kingdom of God is not easy but striving for anything else is not an option. When we strive for the kingdom of wealth, we will always come up empty-handed. When it comes down to the end, all of the wealth in the world can’t add any more time to you life. But if one instead has an orientation toward God’s kingdom then perhaps there will be more life added to our time.

When we have a kingdom orientation it doesn’t just last 24 hours of the week. A kingdom orientation isn’t just a Sunday thing. A kingdom orientation to the world is 24/7/365. Kingdom orientation means that Sunday’s faith overflows into Monday, Tuesday and throughout the week.

Whether we like it or not, in this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does not give us a both/and option. We cannot serve God and anything else. We can’t keep one foot in the world of acquiring stuff and keep the other foot in the service of God. We can’t serve God and the dollar. It’s either/or not both/and.

But it can be downright scary to think about putting our whole self into the service of God. After all, we are told often enough not to put all our eggs in one basket. We are advised to be sure our stock portfolio is suffieiently diversified. Our society rewards those who have their hands in many different things. To trust in just one thing – to put all our belief in one thing seems at first irresponsible. But when that one thing is almighty God – the God who created the whole of creation, the God who knit us together in our mother’s wombs, the God who knows the number of hairs on our heads, the God who cannot forget us – when that is who we put our trust in then we cannot fail. When we jump in with two feet and say that we will indeed worship no other god, then, we have a kingdom orientation.

When we have a kingdom orientation, when we plant both feet solidly in God’s camp, there can be no other way. When we can trust that God knows our every need, then we are free to go about the work of God’s kingdom. When our own pursuits don’t get in the way we can see how to be Christ for one another.

Tom Long said that when one truly believes that God is in control, "then that person is free to hold possessions with a light grasp and to be generous toward others. On the other hand, if life is seen as a competitive struggle between winners and losers over limited resources, then one is a slave to this struggle, and the only viable creed is "Where’s Mine?""

May we be Christ to one another each and every day. Instead of running the rat race in pursuit of stuff, may we run the race of the faithful, striving for God’s kingdom. May our creed not be "where’s mine?" but "all is thine."