For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things (Matthew 6:32 KJV) 

Has God prohibited material things? Is He displeased when our physical needs are met? Irrespective of our answers to these questions, Jesus reveals a profound truth about the Father in Matt. 6:32: our heavenly Father knows we need “these things.”

Our Creator Father made us a mysterious unity of the physical and the spiritual. And because we are composite beings, we need both spiritual and material things to live in the body. Therefore, Jesus says the Father knows that we need these things—clothing, shelter, food, money, etc. He does not deny or reject our physical needs. Instead, He acknowledges our physical needs and delights in calling Himself El Shaddai, the All-Sufficient One, who supplies all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.

As a fundamental need for human well-being, material things are themselves, not evil. They become the root of all kinds of evil when they take God’s place in our lives. Jesus described this idolatrous influence of material things in Matt 6:32 above, stating, “for after all these things do the Gentiles seek.” Material things—with money at the center—drive the lives of the ungodly. For them, life is exclusively about their worldly well-being, success, careers, businesses, families, earthly possessions, etc. The Lord has warned His people repeatedly about this polluting influence, and believers today—especially ministers—will do well to heed the Father’s warning regarding material things.

Despite the admonitions about the pitfalls of money or temporal things, the Father doesn’t brandish them as ungodly. Neither does He want us to consider material things or well-being as ungodliness. Instead, He instructs us to maintain healthy control over money and material possessions. Our financial wholeness starts with the right mindset on money, and the proper perspective is to see material things as God does: He knows we need them, and He wants us to be mature enough to control our money rather than allow it to take His place in our lives.

In conclusion, the Father knows we have physical needs to be met. And if we heed His warnings against the dangers of material things (including money) and seek Him as our priority, He will richly give us all things to enjoy.

What are the two significant perspectives about money and material things which Jesus addresses in Matt. 6:32 above? 

Develop God’s perspective on material things—acknowledge the truth that not only do you need these things but the things themselves can become an idol and take God’s place in your life. Our problem with money is not money, but the place money occupies in our hearts. 

Ask the Father to give you wisdom to see your material needs and money the way He does. 

Recommended

• The purpose of money and wealth
• Recognizing and acknowledging the Holy Spirit’s activity in your life
• The spiritual purpose of money
• What is money?
• Provision on the Mount of the LORD
• View All Deshen Daily Devotionals

Free Mini E-book: From Spiritual Dryness to Flourishing