Opening illustration: A seminar leader wanted to make an important point, so he took a wide mouth jar and filled it with rocks. “Is the jar full?” he asked. “Yes,” came a reply. “Oh, really?” he said. Then poured smaller pebbles into the jar to fill the spaces between the rocks. “Is it full now?” “Yes,” said someone else. “Oh, really?” He then filled the remaining spaces between the rocks and stones with sand. “Is it full now?” he asked. “Probably not,” said another, to the amusement of the audience. He then took a pitcher of water and poured it into the jar.
“What’s the lessen we learn from this?” he asked. An eager participant spoke up, “No matter how full the jar is, there is always room for more.” “Not quite,” said the leader. “The lesson is: to get everything in the jar, you must always put the big things in first.”
Jesus proclaimed a similar principle in the sermon on the Mount. He knew that we waste our time worrying about the little things that seem so urgent but crowd out the big things of eternal value. “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things,” Jesus reminded His hearers. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
What are you putting first in your life? Let us turn to Matthew 6: 25 – 34 to get some answers.
Introduction: Materialism is more a matter of attitude than of affluence; many of us who consider ourselves to be a part of the middle class are more susceptible to this ailment than the rich. We may suppose that materialism is an undue desire for luxuries, but our Lord identifies it with undue concern over necessities, such as food and clothing. As such we are all materialists.
Since materialism (and its offspring, worry) are such a debilitating force in men’s lives, our Lord has ranked it among the leading failures in our faith. Here we will touch a nerve which is very sensitive to the probing of the Word of God. It is the Scriptures which penetrate beyond the outer facade of our spirituality to expose the motivations of the heart:
In all this passage there is a treasury of golden lessons. Let us seek to use them in our daily life: let us not only read them, but turn them to practical account; let us watch and pray against an anxious and over-careful spirit. It deeply concerns our happiness to do so. Half our miseries are caused by fancying things that we think are coming upon us: half the things that we expect to come upon us never come at all. Where is our faith? Where is our confidence in our Savior’s words? We may well take shame to ourselves, when we read these verses, and then look into our hearts. We may be sure that David’s words are true: "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."
What are you putting first in your life?
1. Worry ~ that is missing the point in life (v. 25):
Background check on worry – (6:25) μὴ μεριμνᾶτε - merimnao – “I divide or separate” Matthew 6:25, 27, 28, 31, 34. Anxious, divided, distracted. KJV, NASB: anxious.
Jesus begins by pointing out that God gave us life, and, if He gave us life, surely we can trust Him for the lesser things. If God gave us life, surely we can trust Him to give us food to sustain that life. If God gives us bodies, surely we can trust Him for raiment to clothe these bodies. If anyone gives us a gift which is beyond price, surely we can be certain that such a giver will not be mean, stingy, niggardly, careless and forgetful about much less costly gifts. So, the first argument is that, if God gave us life, we can trust Him for the things which are necessary to support life.
Prudent care is never forbidden by our Lord, but only that anxious distracting solicitude, which, by dividing the mind, and drawing it different ways, renders it utterly incapable of attending to any solemn or important concern. To be anxiously careful concerning the means of subsistence is to lose all satisfaction and comfort in the things which God gives, and to act as a mere infidel. On the other hand, to rely so much upon providence as not to use the very powers and faculties with which the Divine Being has endowed us, is to tempt God. If we labor without placing our confidence in our labor, but expect all from the blessing of God, we obey his will, co-operate with his providence, set the springs of it a-going on our behalf, and thus imitate Christ and his followers by a sedate care and an industrious confidence.
And if you serve God, you need be careful for nothing. Therefore take not thought - That is, be not anxiously careful. Beware of worldly cares; for these are as inconsistent with the true service of God as worldly desires. Is not the life more than meat? - And if God give the greater gift, will he deny the smaller?
If you do an analysis of any typical women’s magazine or men’s magazine and you will find it is preoccupied with the very things Jesus told us not to worry about - with clothes, food and drink. Most of the adverts will focus on the body: with how to shape it, how to ’take four-and-a-half inches off without moving an inch’; with how to make it more attractive; how to ’love your lips’, and make them alluring, smooth and more kissable; with how to look younger; how to rejuvenate your skin and make it as soft as a baby’s; with how to feed it - ’soups to be passionate about’; with how to clothe it with lycra for ’comfort, quality and freedom’ and silk scarves ’to excite and inspire’. Jesus says that life ’is more important than these things.’ Worry confuses your value system and sucks the joy out of our lives.
Illustration: Sir Winston Churchill once said, ’When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his death bed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened.’ William Barclay recalls the story of a London doctor who was paralysed and bedridden, but outrageously cheerful. His smile so brave and radiant that everyone forgot to feel sorry for him. His children adored him, and when one of his boys was leaving home, Dr. Greatheart gave him this advice: ’Johnny,’ he said, ‘…please remember the biggest troubles you have got to face are those that never come.’ Worry misses the point of life because it is illogical and a waste of time.
Application (v. 26): Baby rose-breasted grosbeaks eat 426 times in 11 hours, and He feeds them, but Jesus did not die for one of the 8000 species of birds. He died for us.
If those who are created to serve us are nourished without worry, how much more ought I, who am created to serve our Creator and Maker to be nourished without worry; but I have corrupted my ways, and so I have impaired my substance. The point that Jesus is making is not that the birds do not work; it has been observed that no one works harder than the average sparrow to make a living; the point that He is making is that they do not worry. There is not to be found in them man’s seeking to find security in things stored up and accumulated against the future.
2. Worry ~ that is wasting all your time (v. 27):
There is always something we can choose to worry about. If you stay up all night worrying, in the morning the problems are still there and you’ve lost all that sleep. It’s an utter waste of time.
Jesus goes on to prove that worry is in any event useless. And which of you - If you are ever so careful, can even add a moment to your own life thereby? This seems to be far the most easy and natural sense of the words. The verse can bear two meanings. It can mean that no man by worrying can add a cubit to his height: but a cubit is 18 inches, and no man surely would ever contemplate adding 18 inches to his height! It can mean that no man by worrying can add the shortest space to his life; and that meaning is more likely. It is Jesus’ argument that worry is pointless anyway.
The man who feeds his heart on the record of what God has done in the past will never worry about the future. Worry refuses to learn the lesson of life. We are still alive and our heads are still above the water; and yet if someone had told us that we would have to go through what we have apparently gone through, we would have said that it was impossible. The lesson of life is that somehow we have been enabled to bear the unbearable and to do the undoable and to pass the breaking-point yet not break. The lesson of life is that worry is unnecessary.
Application (vs. 28 – 30): Christ does not direct his hearers to the lilies, or flowers which grow in the garden which receive some advantage from the management and care of the gardener; but to those of the field, where the art and care of men were not so exercised: and besides, he was now preaching on the mount, in an open place; and as he could point to the fowls of the air, flying in their sight, so to the flowers, in the adjacent fields and valleys: which he would have them look upon, with their eyes, consider and contemplate in their minds.
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these - Not in garments of so pure white. The eastern monarchs were often clothed in white robes. To the Jew the court of Solomon was the highest representation of human glory. The magnificence of the court is not only celebrated in Jewish writings, but in all Oriental literature, and it is still proverbial throughout the East. Yet he was never arrayed with the taste and beauty of one of these. It is probable that both birds and lilies were in sight from where the Lord was sitting.
This is the height of comparison when Jesus mentions the wild flowers which belong to the herbage that is cut with the grass. In Palestine the forests in many localities disappeared thousands of years ago, and in the scarcity of fuel, dried grass and weeds are often used to heat the oven. When God can care for them, how much he would care for us who are made in His very Image.
Illustration: Faith and anxiety are like fire and water. I remember seeing a poster which said, ’Why pray when you can worry?’ I would ask here ~ ‘Is faith your steering wheel or your spare tire?’ Faith in God means a blind trust in God’s care and provision. To be a Christian is to walk in a trusting relationship with God. But sin interferes with that relationship and leads to worry. Worry misses the point of life, is surely a waste of time and incompatible with the believers faith.
3. Worry ~ that is imitating the pagans / unbelievers (vs. 31 & 32):
Jesus practically summarizes and repeats v. 25 here. These three inquiries engross the whole attention of those who are living without God in the world. The belly and back of a worldling are his compound god; and these he worships in the lust of the flesh, in the lust of the eye, and in the pride of life.
[the pagans – ta ethne “the nations”] It is the character of unbelievers, not Christians. Gives rise to selfishness. Worry, however, is misdirected or indicates a lack of trust in God or out of proportion to need.
Jesus goes on to advance a very fundamental argument against worry. Worry, He says, is characteristic of the heathen and not of one who knows what God is like. Worry is essentially, distrust of God. Such a distrust may be understandable in a heathen who believes in an unpredictable god; but it is beyond comprehension in the one who learned to call God by the name of Father. The Christian cannot worry because he believes in the love of God.
Worry is not caused by external circumstances. In the same circumstances one man can be absolutely serene, and another man can be worried to death. Both worry and peace come, not from circumstances, but from the heart.
Illustration: Alistair MacLean quotes a story from Tauler, the German mystic. One day Tauler met a beggar. “God give you a good day, my friend.” He said. The beggar answered. “I thank God I never had a bad one.” Then Tauler said, “God give you a happy life, my friend.” “I thank God,” said the beggar, “I am never unhappy.” Tauler in amazement said, “What do you mean?” “Well,” said the beggar, “When it is fine, I thank God; when it rains, I thank God; when I have plenty, I thank God; when I am hungry, I thank God; and since God’s will is my will, and whatever pleases Him, pleases me, why should I say I am unhappy when I am not?” Tauler looked at the man in astonishment. “Who are you?” he asked. “I am a king,” said the beggar. “Where then is your kingdom?” asked Tauler. And the beggar answered quietly: “In my heart.” Isaiah said it long ago in chapter 26: 6 “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”
Application (vs. 33 – 34): How to overcome worry?
Jesus goes on to advance two ways in which to defeat worry.
(i) Seek first to concentrate upon the Kingdom of God ~ We have seen that to be in the Kingdom and to do the will of God is one and the same things [Matthew 6: 10]. Put Christ and His will first, everything else, secondary. When we have our hearts centered upon what is really important, our real purposes and plans begin to function correctly, as our perspectives are in line with God’s. The secret to a life of contentment is having the right perspective of our place in the kingdom. To concentrate on the doing of, and the acceptance of, God’s will is the way to defeat worry. We know how in our own lives a great love can drive out every other concern. Such a love can inspire a man’s work, intensify his study, purify his life and dominate his whole being. It was Jesus’ conviction that worry is banished when God becomes the dominating power of our lives.
As a Christian, we have to have the perspective that all things in life, all that we have, see, and use, do not belong to us. It all belongs to God - period! We did not create them; we are merely the stewards entrusted to care for, develop, and use them wisely, all to His glory, and to progress with His call and His Kingdom upon our hearts and the world. When we think we have ownership, we are deluding ourselves, creating worry and needless stress. We then get ourselves off His plan and Will, because we seek materialistic possessions and not His Kingdom!
(ii) Seek Godly Righteousness ~ This is the holiness of our hearts and purity of life which God requires of those who profess to be subjects of that spiritual kingdom mentioned above. The righteousness that God bestows upon those who are in the Kingdom, Christ’s righteousness, the forgiveness of sins in his name. This is not the righteousness of man, but of God; and is no other than the righteousness of Christ; so called, because he is God who has wrought it; it is what God approves of, accepts, and imputes, and which only can justify in his sight, and give an abundant entrance into his kingdom and glory. Heaven is to be sought for in the first place, as the perfection of the saints’ happiness; and Christ’s righteousness is to be sought for, and laid hold on by faith, as the way and means of enjoying that happiness; without which, there will be no entering into the kingdom of heaven.
The result for obediently seeking the above two will lead to your ever need being supplied in accordance to God Himself. What an awesome promise. This does not mean that all your wants will be taken care of. Without fail God will surely take care of what your daily requirements are. PTL!
Lastly Jesus talks about acquiring the art of living one day at a time in v. 34. If each day is lived as it comes, if each task is done as it appears, then the sum of all the days is bound to be good. It is Jesus’ advice that we should handle the demands of each day as it comes, without worrying about the unknown future and the things which may never happen.
Illustration: The wealthy Baron Fitzgerald had only one son and heir, who died after leaving home. This was a tragedy from which the father never recovered. As his wealth increased, the Baron continued to invest in paintings by great masters, and when he died his will was found to call for all his paintings to be sold. Because of their quality and artistic value, messages were sent out to museums and collectors, advertising the sale.
When the day of the auction came, a large crowd assembled, and the lawyer read from Fitzgerald’s will. It instructed that the first painting to be sold was that ’of my beloved son’. The portrait was by an unknown artist and it was of poor quality. The only bidder was an old servant who had known and loved the boy. For a small sum of money he bought it for its sentimental value and the memories it held for him. The attorney again read from the will, ’Whoever buys my son’s painting gets it all. The auction is over.’ Jesus said, ’Seek first my Father’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well’. That is how we ought to stop worrying and start living.
Conclusion: Happy are those who take the Lord for their God, and make full proof of it by trusting themselves wholly to his wise disposal. Let thy Spirit convince us of sin in the want of this disposition, and take away the worldliness of our hearts. There may be greater sins than worry, but very certainly there is no more disabling sin. “Do not be worried about tomorrow” ~ that is the commandment of Christ, and it is the way, not only to peace, but also to power.
Those who lay up treasures in heaven are the richest people on earth.
