SOTM: Matthew 6:25-34 (Worry)

Jesus spoke these words:

(Matt. 6:25 ESV)  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34   “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” 

Umm … I read these words and I worry about my inability to live them. And then I worry about my inability to stop worrying about that. In fact, this is my least favorite passage in the Sermon on the Mount. And I worry about that. What to do? What  to do?A few preliminary points are in order. God does not promise you a big 401(k) plan. He promises you enough to get by for one more day. He promises “this day our daily bread.” No more.

But he does promise this much — which is a lot. On the other hand, we live in a capitalistic society, and if you don’t work tomorrow, you likely won’t eat the day after. And jobs can be hard to come by. So why not worry?

Scot McKnight sagely comments —

Too often we believe like theists (a personal God) and act like deists (a distant, impersonal, noninteractive, uninvolved god). We say we believe in God, trust in God, and are sustained by God; but in our actions we do everything for ourselves, trusting in ourselves and anxious about the providence of God, which unravels our theism. We believe that God not only gives life but is life itself, and that belief means that every breath we take and every moment of life we live comes from and is sustained by the creator God. Without venturing into pantheism (all is God) or a softer version in panentheism (God is in all), the Christian faith affirms that all of life in the entire cosmos is from God and is sustained by God. God, then, is actively at work in all of life.
This is why the ancient Israelites prayed to God for provisions and thanked God for the provisions they had. This is why the entire framework of blessings and curses (Lev 26; Deut 28) finds its way so deeply in the Bible’s understanding of how life works: since God is Creator, and since God is responsible for sustenance, the presence and absence of provisions are acts of God.

Scot McKnight, Sermon on the Mount (The Story of God Bible Commentary; Accordance electronic ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013), 215-216.

Let us begin with this: Jesus assumes a world in this teaching in which his followers, while they will not have a bounty, will have enough for sustenance. His teachings here assume the ordinary provisions for life, and he instructs his followers about how to live in that kind of world. 

What Jesus is saying, then, is not insensitive to many who pray for food and starve to death. He would say something else to that condition. … [I]t needs to be emphasized, Jesus is not dreaming of some far-off world that does not yet exist; rather, he is seeing the world through the eyes of a first-century Galilean whose followers have access to provisions. This is not a dreamy Ethic from Beyond, but a God-drenched, prayer-infested, and obedience-shaped Ethic from Below. That stance alone explains the entire focus of this passage. To think Jesus offers here a strategy for the starving fails every time; any criticism that attacks him on that score fails as well. 

… [O]bserve that God normally provides provisions through others (as in 10:9–14), and then say that the reason some don’t have provisions is because of the greed or insensitivity of others. Again, we cannot ask Jesus to tackle all problems every time he issues a press release about possessions and provisions. He was not an economist. He’s talking to first-century Galilean disciples who have access to provisions in their Galilean context. Or, we could say Jesus is speaking to mission-sent disciples with access to others who will provide for them (as is often the case in the world today), and in that context he urges them to trust God and not to focus on securing their provisions against the future.

Scot McKnight, Sermon on the Mount (The Story of God Bible Commentary; Accordance electronic ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013), 222.

So perhaps the reason I need not worry is my fellow disciples through whom God will provide for my needs? Especially if I’m engaged in God’s mission. After all, the promise is only for followers of Jesus — who are necessarily on mission as part of a church that cares of each others needs.

(Acts 2:42–47 ESV)   And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Clearly, in the Jerusalem church, God met the needs of his children through the grace of the members there. Having received grace, they granted grace. Part of their mission was caring for the needs of the fellow members.

The words are directed to people involved with sowing, reaping, storing in barns, toiling, and spinning, but who are called to see that their life is not based on these things. Such people are not called to become birds or lilies, but to consider God’s providence for all creation, including birds, lilies, and human beings.

M. Eugene Boring, “The Gospel of Matthew,” in General Articles on the New Testament; Matthew-Mark (vol. 8 of New Interpreters Bible, Accordance electronic ed. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), 211.

But it’s much more than that. We are to line up our priorities to first serve the Kingdom’s business. If we’ll commit ourselves to the Kingdom, God will take care of us. You see, it’s about priorities, and our priorities are shown by the choices we make. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

I once taught a young marrieds class, and the subject got around to how to raise children to be Christians. There is much that could be said on the subject, but I think it’s critical that the parents — both of them — set an example of making Kingdom choices. Sometimes dad may need to skip church to work. His son may need to travel on Sunday to play in an all stars ball game. But is it really necessary that the church always comes  in second? Aren’t there times when need to forego the bonus or being on all stars in order to do something more important — like attend church camp or teach a Bible class.

Now, these seem trivial examples, I’m sure, but to a child, these are life. The child does not understand that there will be only one 7th grade all star game and lots of Bible camps. Rather, he understands that his parents think baseball is more important than Jesus or church. And it’s really hard to teach a middle schooler otherwise.

We don’t need to turn church into a legalistic burden on our children, but we do need to live lives in which we seek the Kingdom first, realizing that we may have to sometimes give up all stars — but we get so much more for having lived a better life.

It’s not about “balance.” It’s about the Kingdom coming first, but realizing that the Kingdom is much bigger than Bible camp or church — but it does include those things.

So when did your child last see you make a choice that favored the Kingdom? And when will your urge your child to follow your example of making such choices? So long as we let the Kingdom business only fit where there are no other priorities, our children will figure us out and live less hypocritically, far away from the Kingdom.