Matthew 6:25-34
“Notice what you notice.” Worry. Jesus lays it out and makes it sound quite simple. His words are so simple, in fact, that my Study Bible has only two comments on these ten verses – and even those two comments add almost nothing to our understanding of what Jesus says. Plain and simple – just read it and comprehend.
So Jesus’ talk of worry covers food, water and clothing, right? No. That was His message to those listening back then. They had to WORK for their food, water and clothing. For us today, I dare say none of us are concerned about our food, water or clothing. We simply go through our pantries, refrigerators and freezers to figure out what to eat tonight, after we have previously perused the thousands of items to buy at Kroger. And water? Turn on the faucet. Clothing? I won’t even go there.
As a quick aside, I mentioned two days ago that I would be watching for Matthew’s comments about Gentiles. Today he adds another, that the Gentiles are busy seeking after food, water and clothing (v. 32). Why would he mention the Gentiles in this context? Were not his Jewish brethren concerned about the same things? Strange!
It’s the last item of worry that Jesus mentions that is His message to us today: TOMORROW!! Tomorrow’s worries!!! Money. Health. Kids. Retirement. Or bigger issues – politics, the environment, society’s ills, Russia, China, terrorists…! That’s just a quick list of things that I came up with. You can add your own. I’m sure there are many more!
What is Jesus’ response to our “tomorrow” worries? It comes in the prayer He taught His disciples (our reading from two days ago): Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Mt. 6:10). “Your will be done on earth…” He tells us that if we are seeking His kingdom and His righteousness, all these other things will be “added”. If we could really say “Your will be done” to all our worries, I dare say we could reduce our worries substantially. What’s that simple phrase? “Let go and let God!”
Slava Bohu!