Matthew 6:25-34 closes the Sermon on the Mount with Jesus’ teaching on worrying. Indeed, even to the extremely poor, Jesus says not to stress over food or garments.
God takes care of the birds and garments the lilies in a beautiful manner, and God’s children are definitely more important than the birds.
Restless worrying cannot add even an hour to an individual's life. Jesus advises the listeners to trust God to give them what they genuinely need.
Nonetheless, the setting of what we really need is the desire of God, which could appear to be exceptionally unique from what we would like (Matthew 5:3-12).
In light of the ill impacts of worry on our lives, Jesus tells us to “take no thought” concerning those needs that God has promised to supply.
Worry might harm our well-being, make the object of stress consume our thoughts, upset our efficiency, contrarily influence the way that we treat others, and diminish our capacity to confide in God.
What number of ill impacts of worry would we say that we are encountering? The distinction between worry and certifiable concern is that worry brings us to a standstill, yet having a concern for others directs us toward activity.
What Is the Context of Matthew 6:25-34?
Jesus is not advising the people to stop working. Nor is he advising them to just sit inactively by in anticipation for God to extraordinarily give. He is not recommending that it is inappropriate to earn a living in order to support their families.
He is not telling the believers that they should not shrewdly put something aside for future necessities. With regards to the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is telling his audience to assume responsibility for what is in their hearts and minds.
Christ says that believers should not live in tension with regard to these essential necessities of life. Life is about something beyond clothing and food. There is significance and reason regardless of whether we have these things.
To live in stress over wealth that we do not have is living heavily influenced by wealth rather than the control of God. Living to serve God incorporates confiding in him to give us what is required without living in dread and uneasiness.
Presently Jesus speaks about the natural world by giving an illustration. Birds do not plant, reap, or store crops. They have no coordinated framework for accommodating themselves past the second they are in. Yet Jesus says they do eat since God takes care of them.
Jesus poses a sharp inquiry to the people: are they not more important than the birds? The inferred answer is obviously yes, and they are more significant than the birds. Now, if God takes care of the birds, he will likewise take care of the people who are worth more than birds.
Rather than living in tension with regard to these fundamental necessities, Jesus asks his followers to trust God to give them what is required in his timely manner and with the amount that is needed (Philippians 4:19).
Here Jesus mentions one more issue with uneasiness, dread, and stress: that they are pointless. They do not help, nor do they work. Those feelings are undoubtedly feeble regarding the concern for actual needs.
Uneasiness is a characteristic human reaction, particularly while we are considering how to take care of our loved ones. Given the circumstances, it is obviously true that worry, all by itself, cannot add a solitary hour to anybody's life. Stress is incapable of doing anything.
Obviously, many know that uneasiness is not just something we can eliminate. God knows this and sees that it can be hard to place trust in God when times are troublesome. Truth be told, it is for this reason that Scripture is here to remind us of this.
If being a Christian made every one of our feelings of trepidation and questions vanish, then there would not be an obvious explanation for God to remind us not to stress.
Clothing and food are fundamental human needs. In many parts of the world, even those that society considers poor seldom have genuine worries concerning where to get garments or food.
That was difficult for the poor in Jesus' day, and it remains so in many areas of today’s world. It is normal to anticipate that somebody in that position will encounter nervousness. It is something we will more often than not identify with.
Lilies sit idle, in contrast with how individuals obtain food and shelter. Lilies of the field develop without accomplishing any work or creating any garments for themselves.
In any case, as Jesus will say, they are clothed with extraordinary magnificence. They are dressed precisely as God wants them to be.
Jesus' Jewish audience members would have known about Solomon's incredible and luxurious abundance from Israel's days of glory (2 Chronicles 9:3-4). In addition to the fact that Solomon was dressed in the best clothes in the world, his realm was likewise streamed with gold and silver.
He lived in extraordinary extravagance. Jesus affirms that the quality of the lilies' magnificence outperforms even Solomon's, although they never do anything.
Jesus brings the point home in the accompanying verse, God can and will give what is needed. That may not particularly be what we want (Matthew 5:3-12); however, it is enough for us to achieve God’s will.
Does God Care about Our Lives?
God cares more profoundly about his people than he does about the birds or blossoms. The wild lilies are viewed as if they were grass. They spring up, blossom in quality, and die prior to being raked up and consumed.
If God gives clothing to the flowers, Jesus says, would we not say that God will dress us? Christ has, as of now, called attention to the fact that God's favoring does not constantly mean common solace (Matthew 5:3-12), so his providing can oftentimes include doing without the things that we consider as needs.
We see the statement, “O ye of little faith.” Christians too often go to the altar with a problem but get up still holding onto the problem, as if the problem were attached to them with a bungee cord (Matthew 8:26; Matthew 16:8; Psalm 23:1). We need to learn to let go and let God manage it.
It is critical to see two things about what Jesus is teaching here. In the first place, he is not promising that God will give luxurious ways of life on this side of paradise, but that God will address their issues.
That need is with regard to God's will for our lives, which is not always simple (Matthew 5:3-12). God will provide us with what we need, with respect to his plans, which probably will not be what we want to be secure or at ease. Reliance on God's providing includes an extreme rethinking of what needs are.
Second, Jesus is not advising the people to quit working or planning for the future. His instruction here does not mean we ought to sit idly by and trust that the world (government) will take care of us.
God regularly gives work and insight to address our issues. What people should not do is fixate on riches, either by storing them or living in dread over neediness. God feeds and garments his people precisely as they really ought to be.
To “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” means that we should first go to God for help, to fill our thoughts with his longings, to take upon us his character as an example to live by and to serve and submit to him in all things.
What is essential to us? Material items, various individuals, objectives, and different cravings all compete against each other for first place in our lives.
Any of these can rapidly knock God out of the lead position if we do not effectively decide to give God the lead in all aspects of our lives (Psalm 34:9).
What Does This Mean?
Making plans for the future is time that is utilized well. However, agonizing over tomorrow is time squandered. Once in a while, it is hard to differentiate between the two.
Planning cautiously is preparing for any issues and trusting in God's direction. If we make plans in a correct manner, it can assist with reducing stress.
On the other hand, the one who worries is consumed by dread and finds it challenging to confide in God. The worrier allows his plans to disrupt his relationship with God. We are not to let stresses over tomorrow influence our relationship with God today.
We need to learn to turn our worries into prayers (Philippians 4:6; Colossians 4:2). While we are in prayer and with thanks in our hearts, give it to God (1 Peter 5:7).
Worry less and pray more! God will answer in his time. Do our duty while we wait upon the Lord (Psalms 27:14; Luke 11:9).
For further reading:
What Does it Mean to Consider the Lilies?
What Does it Mean That We Are Worth More Than Sparrows?
Why Should We Not Worry about Tomorrow?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Nataba
