Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 ^x“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ^ymoth and rust¹ destroy and where thieves ^zbreak in and steal, 20 ^xbut lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 ^a“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 ^abut if ^byour eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 ^c“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ^dmoney.²

Do Not Be Anxious

25 ^e“Therefore I tell you, ^fdo not be anxious 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? 26 ^gLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. ^hAre you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ⁱspan of life?³ 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, ^jeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, ^kO you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For ^lthe Gentiles seek after all these things, and ^myour heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But ⁿseek first ^othe kingdom of God and his righteousness, ^pand all these things will be added to you.

34 ^q“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

The Parable of the Rich Fool

13 ^sSomeone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, ^t“Man, ^uwho made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, ^v“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, ^w“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ^x‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my ^ybarns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up ^zfor many years; relax, ^aeat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ^b‘Fool! ^zThis night ^cyour soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, ^dwhose will they be?’ 21 So is the one ^ewho lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Be Anxious

22 And he said to his disciples, ^f“Therefore I tell you, ^gdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 ^hConsider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. ⁱOf how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^jspan of life?¹ 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, ^keven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, ^lO you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor ^mbe worried. 30 For ⁿall the nations of the world seek after these things, and ⁿyour Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, ^oseek ^phis² kingdom, ^qand these things will be added to you.

32 ^r“Fear not, little ^sflock, for ^tit is your Father’s good pleasure to give you ^uthe kingdom. 33 ^vSell your possessions, and ^wgive to the needy. ^xProvide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with ^ya treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 ^zFor where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

You Must Be Ready

35 ^a“Stay dressed for action³ and ^bkeep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are ^cwaiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and ^dknocks. 37 ^eBlessed are those servants⁴ whom the master finds ^eawake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, ^fhe will dress himself for service and ^ghave them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.