"do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! "Do not worry then, saying, `What will we eat?' or `What will we drink?' or `What will we wear for clothing?' "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34
If worry doesn't work for good, why worry? We know the answer to the question, but practicing it is another story.
I'm a worrier by nature, as you also might be. There is always plenty to potentially worry about, and Jesus zeroed in on the top three: food, drink, and clothing. I'm writing this during the worst inflationary period this country has seen in forty years. Skyrocketing prices and supply chain shortages have instilled at least some worry in many people. Will our paychecks go far enough? Will I even be able to find what I'm looking for on increasingly barren store shelves?
Jesus referenced God's provision in nature as basis for worry-free living. Birds are nourished, and flowers are gloriously clothed. Should not we, God's prized creation, take note and rest assured in His provision? The wise Psalmist learned this important lesson: "I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread." (Psalm 37:25).
When Jesus warns against worry, He does not commend a careless life devoid of any planning or preparation. Worry, as He speaks of it, literally means anxious, distracted care. In other words, being so paralyzed by worry as to scarcely be able to function. The word, "paranoid," seems a fitting description.
Jesus asks a probing but rhetorical question: "who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?" The obvious answer is no one. Worry potentially shortens, not lengthens life!
The remedy for worry is a healthy obsession with something greater: "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." First things first. Not kingdom priorities if there is time and energy left over, but first and foremost. In faith, place the agenda of God at the top of the list, and the God who provides for birds and lilies will likewise provide for you. And, in so doing, watch your worry quotient diminish.
©Steve Taylor, 2022 --Used by permission
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