Don’t worry
Text: Matthew 6:25–33
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we give thanks to God for everything he gives us, but particularly the food, goods, and material possessions he has blessed us with. As valuable as these things are for us, and as thankful as we are for them, Jesus reminds us today that there is much more to life than even these blessings. As we acknowledge the gifts we have received, Jesus warns us about what happens when the gifts become more important to us than the giver.
We live in an age of worry
It’s a matter of priorities
God provides even more than what we need
We live in an age of worry
The words, “Don’t worry,” are more likely to cause frustration than bring comfort. One of the worst things you can say to someone who is obviously worried, stressed, or anxious about something is, “Don’t worry.” Our worry is not like a switch that we can just simply turn off, as much as we would like it to be at times.
Some of us worry and get worked up more than others, but we all worry about big things and small things. In moments of heightened stress, people see the worst of us. Sometimes, our worry simmers away and comes to the surface in the form of anger or frustration.
I used to work at Hungry Jack’s at the OTR service station on Salisbury Highway. We used to get people coming through on their way to the city for the footy. As the starting time of that weekend’s game got closer, the customers would gradually get more conscious of the time and worried about being late. We could tell they were worried because of how edgy they got when their order took more than three minutes to get to them. Luckily, I got to mind my own business out back, but the staff at the counter copped a fair bit at times. Anyone who has worked in retail or hospitality has experienced that, I’m sure.
Worry is bad for us in many ways, including the affect it can have on other people. Jesus knows that we worry and lists a few things that he knows we worry about:
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?
Matthew 6:25
Clothes, the body, food, and even life itself are all sources of stress and worry for us. Jesus is speaking to a crowd over 2000 years ago, but we still worry about those things:
We still worry about what we wear—how we appear in front of other people.
We still worry about food, particularly as we become more aware of what goes into our food and as allergies and intolerances become more common. We hear all about the rising cost of living and experience it when we get to the checkout at the supermarket. We worry about striking the right balance between eating healthily and cheaply.
We still worry about life—work, family, social circles, school, and everything else.
Your stage of life influences the things you worry about. If you are a grandparent, some sources of worry might be the way the world is relying more on technology and less on real interaction. If you are a student or young adult, you might be more worried about your career path or how you’re going to save enough money to finally move out of home.
Whatever your worries are, big or small, Jesus has a solution for you.
It’s a matter of priorities
“Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” Jesus asks. Food is important, of course—in fact, we can’t live without it—but we need more than just food to sustain our life.
Jesus also says that worrying can’t add a single hour to your life. That phrase could also be translated, “worrying can’t add a cubit to your height.” In other words, worrying does not add anything to our lives. In fact, all it does is sap our joy and hope.
None of this is to say that food and clothes are not important—it’s a matter of priorities. British theologian Tom Wright puts it well:
So, when Jesus tells us not to worry about what to eat, or drink, or wear, he doesn’t mean that these things don’t matter. He doesn’t mean that we should prefer (as some teachers have suggested) to eat and drink as little as possible, and to wear the most ragged and disreputable clothes, just to show that we despise such things. Far from it!…
…But the point was again priorities. Put the world first, and you’ll find it gets moth-eaten in your hands. Put God first, and you’ll get the world thrown in.
N.T. Wright
Today, we’re giving thanks for the food and clothes he gives us, and the harvest he has blessed us with. By giving him thanks for these things, we are acknowledging the giver. We receive everything we have with grateful hearts, knowing that it is God who has given them to us.
If we believe that everything we have is due to our own hard work, the only one to thank is ourselves. We can give ourselves a pat on the back which might feel pretty good for a little while, but as Tom Wright says: “Put the world first, and you’ll find it gets moth-eaten in your hands.”
When we put the world first, we make ourselves captive to it. When we put the gifts before the Giver, we protect it at all costs instead of being generous.
Everyone around us is running after the things of the world—a better paying job, a bigger house, a house at all, a better car, the lifestyle they want… Even basics like food and clothes become distractions from what we should really be chasing after.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well,” Jesus says. Or, in Wright’s words, “Put God first, and you’ll get the world thrown in.”
God provides even more than what we need
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to provide our “daily bread.” Have you ever thought about what our “daily bread” actually is?
When you say and ask for “daily bread,” you ask for everything that is necessary in order to have and enjoy daily bread and, on the contrary, against everything that interferes with enjoying it.
The Large Catechism
We are quite literally asking God to provide us with bread so that we can eat and be physically sustained. We are also asking for everything that is required for that bread to get to your table, most of which goes on without our awareness or asking: bakers, flour, grain that God caused to grow, farmers that God called to that vocation, and even good government so that we can enjoy our bread in peace.
Even the farmers can’t fully control the growth of their crops. Farming technology is pretty amazing these days, but they still can’t make the stuff grow and they can’t control the weather. Why do you think they talk about it all the time?
God gives us what we need even without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that God will help us to realise what our daily bread is and that he has provided it.
Jesus points to the birds and the flowers as two simple examples of God’s provision. They are both simply being what they were created to be. Jesus promotes a simple life that has no goals or aspirations other than to simply be.
“Sounds nice,” you might say, “but I’ve still got bills to pay.”
Even our work is something that God has provided for us to enjoy. It says in Ecclesiastes 2 that there is nothing better than to eat, drink, and enjoy the satisfaction of a hard earned thir—I mean, a hard day’s work. That work doesn’t gain us anything other than the satisfaction that we have served our God-given purpose for the day, which might simply be to earn the money to put the daily bread on the table.
In addition to our physical needs, God provides for our the needs of our souls, too. He provides the sustenance that our faith needs and he causes it to grow by his Holy Spirit. Through Christ, he has given us the daily bread of his body so that we can continue on in this life, knowing that God provides for all our needs.
So, don’t let worry get to you, but instead trust in God’s provision for you in every way. For that, we give him thanks and praise today. Amen.
