God’s Constitution, Pt 26: Don’t Worry
Matthew 6:25-34 25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
This posting begins with some personal testimony related to trusting God. My father was a product of the Greatest Generation, by which I mean he was a teenager during the Great Depression and as a young man went to war in World War II. He brooked no nonsense, was self-driven, and distant, and he taught me the fullest expression of one’s life was to be financially successful. He would have thought my life as a man of God to be wasted time and effort. The result of this is that trusting God or anxiety—the subject of these verses—has been as difficult for me over the years as for many of you and so we are walking this path together.
Anxiety, or worry, really, is the antithesis of trusting God. Here’s how Jesus deals with the issue:
1. Question asked (v26).
2. The problem identified
a. Anxiety is unproductive (v27).
b. Anxiety reveals an undernourished faith (v28-32).
c. Anxiety is unworthy (v25).
But Jesus also offers the solution to these three problems:
3. Question answered (v33).
4. Conclusion drawn (v34).
When Jesus asks, “Is not life more than food or clothing?” He is asking a question which answer seems obvious but actually is not. We in the West face entirely different challenges than our brother believers in oppressive or third-world countries and different than those believers in the 1st Century church. For such people death has a seat at every table and for them acquisition of sustenance and protection against the elements requires much time and effort. Nonetheless, a life spent focused upon such things, the ordinary, basic things, is a life at least diminished, if not wasted.
The question then, has been asked, “Is not life more than food or clothing?” Let’s look at some of Jesus’ reasons why his answer is “Yes”. And let’s remember that while Jesus was God, he was also man and for every second of his incarnate life he knew the exact moment of his death. None of us know that and yet Jesus did and still he thought it more worthwhile to pursue the grander things. I think at the very minimum we should live our lives as much as possible in the same way he lived his.
There are things we can do to add years to our lives; we can rigorously avoid tobacco; we can refrain from excessive use of alcohol; we can avoid risky lifestyles. These things help. Worry does not. Not one single hour can be added to our lives by worrying. But the bottom line of this argument is to ask if we trust God or not. All logic can be brought to bear on the inability of worry to affect change in our lives, but none of that matters. God takes care of all of his creation; he will take care of us. I can hear many a reader respond, “Well you don’t know my life!”. Well, that’s true.
None of us who have come to a place of content or serenity got there without working out struggles. No one ever said walking with Jesus is easy, and it is probably going to get more difficult. But we are not alone.
6Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave your or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged , for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
One thing I know for absolute sure: God will not abandon his children. These verses are true.
Jesus gives the answer to these questions in v33. Seeking God, his kingdom and his righteousness works. Why? Because seeking God is not a mental thing; it is an active thing. It means loving people without condition; it means being fair and honest in one’s treatment of others; it means being kind and forgiving. People like being around that kind of person. They are drawn to them. They want to help when such a person is in need. In spite of the world’s ways, good things do happen to good people.
Also, when I have been in some struggle, never once has God failed to bring the solution to the surface.
So, let’s suppose a person is in the midst of a deep struggle of some kind, it probably would seem completely overwhelming, and the person might be spending hours each day worrying about what to do. How should a person get out of such a mess?
First, realize that worrying hasn’t helped, and that something has to change. That something is to turn to God in all one’s activities. God wants his children to have happy lives but won’t intervene unless we ask him. So, the first step is get into daily communication (prayer) with God. Yell at him if you have to; that’s still called prayer.
Second, be quiet. Listen for God’s answer. Pay attention, because it is likely the answer will be something you have never thought of. After all. if it was obvious, you probably would be out of the mess already.
Third, repent for your part of the mess. This is the hardest part because our usual response in difficult times is to blame the other guy. Repenting probably will mean that God will tell you to go to the other guy to offer reparations. If he accepts, the problem is done; it he doesn’t then the onus is on him. If financial obligations are involved then they have to be paid, maybe over a long period of time, but when the thing is over, it’s over. No more worry, no more stress, just the opportunity to change one’s approach to life by seeking after God’s Kingdom and righteousness. Being righteous means doing things God’s way and that leads to happy, fruitful life.