There was a story about a man who came face to face with the Angel of Death: The Angel was walking toward a city one morning, and a man asked, "What are you going to do?" "I'm going to take 100 people," the Angel replied. "That's horrible!" the man said. "That's the way it is," the Angel said. "That's what I do." The man hurried to warn everyone he could about the Angel of Death's plan. As evening fell, he met the Angel again. "You told me you were going to take 100 people," the man said. "Why did 1,000 die?" "I kept my word," the Angel responded. "I only took 100 people. Worry took the others."
People worry about everything! Those who are ignorant worry because they don't know enough. Those who know worry because of the opposite cause. The rich worry because they are afraid of losing what they have. The poor worry because they don't have enough. The old worry of getting sick and die. The young worry about facing their future.
Last week we learned about two kinds of worry: good worry that is similar to concern and shows responsibility, and wrong, irrational, or destructive worries that disturb our lives and show distrust in God. Today we will continue with how to overcome those bad worries. We thank God because the Bible addresses this issue many times. Even Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, talks about it. Let's read Matthew 6:25-34.
V. 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?" The word "Therefore" relates to the previous verse. In verse 24, Jesus stated, "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Jesus told His disciples that they could not serve two masters; Double service is impossible. Adam Clarke explains verse 25 as follows: "Therefore, that ye may not serve mammon, but have unshaken confidence in God, I say unto you, do not worry …." In Greek, the words "do not worry" means "to be drawn in different directions. Worry pulls us apart from our service to God! To worry is to serve God and something else. Because of worrying about their lives, many people spend their lives working more than needed to earn a lot of money. Many of us today do not worry about food and clothes because we have more than enough, but we may worry about getting Covid-19 or getting sick, about our family's safety, the future of our children, etc. Jesus is telling us that there's more to life than those things. Jesus didn't say that these things don't matter. Jesus didn't say we don't need to concern ourselves with these things. Jesus didn't say don't work for these things. What Jesus is saying is that life is more than these things. So, do not spend your time, energy and focus on these things out of your worry. Instead, focus on God!
V. 26 "Look 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?" Jesus is a great teacher; He often used nature to teach something. The bird that Jesus mentioned here in Greek is "peteina," which means "winged." They are not exotic or expensive birds like a peacock or Cendrawasih bird. They are just regular birds that no one would buy. And yet, Jesus says, our heavenly Father feeds them. Their responsibility is to fly every day to find the foods that God prepares for them. And then, Jesus asks, "Are you not much more valuable than they?" Jesus contrasts those birds that have no value with us, the most valuable of God's creation. If God takes good care of them, how much more will He take care of us?
V. 27 "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" This is a rhetorical question, meaning that it doesn't need an answer. The obvious answer is, "No!" There is no point in worrying. Worry cannot add a single minute to our life, a single dollar to our bank account, or a single point to our GPA. Worry cannot impress your boss, cannot help your kids behave better, cannot strengthen your marriage, and cannot help any of us. However, worry has negative effects on our lives. Worry can damage our health and relationships, rob our joy and opportunities, and affect us, others, and our relationship with God. Worry only has negative effects. The Life Application Study Bible adds this: Concern moves you to action. Worry immobilizes you! Planning for tomorrow is time well spent. Worrying about tomorrow is time wasted. A John Hopkins University doctor says, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact." A minister says, "We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality. Fear deteriorates the quality of my life and even destroys me physically. I was not designed to live this way. Faith breathes life and joy into my mind and body, and I find wholeness." I think he is right. Sometimes because of worry, people do not even dare to tell the truth about who they are. Illustration: In his book "None of These Diseases," McMillen tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application blank that asked, "Are you a leader?" Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, "No," and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: "Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel they must have at least one follower." Those students, because of worry, claimed that they were leaders even though they probably were not.
V. 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers (or "lilies" in KJV, ESV, and NASB ) of the field grow. They do not labor or spin." Lilies don't do anything in comparison to how human beings obtain food and shelter. They stand rooted in place and grow without doing any work or spinning any clothes for themselves. Still, as Jesus will say in the following verse, they are dressed in great beauty. They are clothed precisely as God the Father wants them to be. If God clothes the flowers, how much more will He clothe/provide us with everything we need? So, do we trust God in this matter? Do you trust that you are more important than all the rest of Creation? Do you trust that God can provide for you? Do you trust that God knows what's best for you? He is our Creator, and for those of us that have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He is our Father! He loves us and provides everything we need. James tells us in the book of James 1:17 that every perfect thing comes from Him. Food, clothing, money, family, safety, peace, love, grace, forgiveness all come from God, our Heavenly Father!
V. 29 "Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." According to Albert Barnes, the typical dress of Eastern kings was purple, but they sometimes wore white robes (See Esther 8:15; Daniel 7:9). It is to this that Christ refers. He says Solomon, the richest and most magnificent king of Israel, was not clothed in a robe of "so pure a white" as the lily that grows wild in the field.
V. 30 "If 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?" The word "grass" in Greek is "chorton," which means grass, herbage, growing grain, hay that does not exist for a long time. If God clothes grass that has a very short existence, how much more will He provide us, who live much longer than them, with everything we need. Our worry shows that we have little faith. Our worry related to earthly necessities comes from our lack of faith in our Heavenly Father.
V. 31 "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?" When we trust in God, we do not need to worry anymore about His care and provision. We do our part, and He will do His part to provide us. In 2000, I received a scholarship from a seminary in Fresno to continue my studies there for two years. I already had two children at that time. My wife thought it would be better if I went to America alone because if I went with my family, we would still need another $10,000 even though my home church would keep supporting us during my study, and my wife and I work at the campus. But after I prayed and asked God whether I should bring my family or not, He told me to take my family to America. With the belief that God will meet our needs, I took my family to Fresno. And it turned out to be true. Entering my second year at Fresno, I received news from an organization in Singapore that my scholarship application was approved. Do you know how much they gave? $10,000. I have experienced many miracles of God's tremendous help and providence in my life. Therefore, I learn not to worry about our needs.
V. 32 "For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." In this context, the pagans mean non-Jewish or godless people. Jesus says that the godless people put their priorities on these things, but we shouldn't. They focused on earthly things because that's all that they know. They don't know God!
V. 33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
"But…" This line comes after Christ's instruction about not being like the pagans, who worry so much about worldly things. Instead, like what Jesus says in v. 24, we should "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness" or serve God as the only Master in our lives. It does not mean you have to be full-time ministers (being pastors), but you make God and His will a priority in your lives. Instead of spending our time, thoughts, and energy worrying about our needs, we dedicate them to God. When we do that, Jesus promises: "and all these things will be given to you as well." This reminds us to depend on God for our provisions instead of worrying about obtaining them. "All these things" refer to not only eating, drinking, and wearing clothes but also every basic human need in this world.
V. 34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Each day has enough to occupy our minds; why would we want to add any worry to what we already have? There's no advantage to worry! We need to learn to live one day at a time.
Closing: Jesus tells us three times in this passage to not worry. Should we be concerned with the things of this world? Yes! We need to plan and work and take care of ourselves and our families. Should we be worried about the things of this world? No! We need to focus on God more. Put your trust in God, and the rest will work out. Seek Him, and He'll take care of you.
Challenge yourself this week with these questions: What am I worried about? Ask yourself, "Why am I worried about this? What am I seeking? Are you seeking the things of the world or the things of God? When's the last time that you've sought God and His ways? Did you know that God is seeking you? He loves you and wants great blessings for you. His blessings are far greater than food and clothing and material matters.
