Don’t Worry
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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?” - Matthew 6:25
Therefore. Remember the rule - whenever we see a "therefore" we ask what it is there for! Jesus has just finished teaching about our hearts. Our attitudes and motives are very important to Him. He came to give us new hearts, hearts that seek to please Him. The command He gives us is plain - store up treasures that are eternal, not temporal, walk in light not darkness, and serve One master, that is God, not possessions!
Therefore - because of these things, don't worry! DON'T WORRY?! What? With all the stress and pressure and work and family and life and people, and all the bad things happening around the world and communism and politicians and racism and hatred and violence and kids killing kids and mothers killing their children and drive by shootings and gangs and drugs and drunk drivers and ...... AND YOU SAY DON'T WORRY?! Wait a minute - Who exactly told us here not to worry? Isn't this Jesus speaking? Isn't this our LORD, our Master? Isn't this God? He says not to worry - and it's a command. It literally means stop worry this instant and don't ever start worrying again!
You see, we worry whenever we take on responsibility that doesn't belong to us. If we are laying up treasures here on earth and being stingy and selfish and walking in darkness, then we have every reason to worry - at any moment we could be destroyed by the way we live! But if we heed His Word and value eternal things and walk in light and serve Him instead of things or self - then what have we to worry about? He is responsible for us. So if we take that responsibility on ourselves then we begin to worry. And Jesus here is talking about basic things - don't worry about food and clothing! Basic, simple, daily necessities. He is telling us that not only should we quit worrying about the "big" things. We should also not worry about the "little" things - the everyday things that we need just to survive.
We must ask a question - Who is in charge? Who is the Master we are serving? If we listened to Jesus and put away our allegiance to things and committed ourselves to serve only God, then if we continue to worry about things, we really aren't serving God are we? Remember, what we believe we act on! Just like the bear chasing us in the woods - whether there is a bear or not if we think the bear is there we RUN! If we bow our will to His and serve Him alone as Master, then we won't worry!
Jesus also asks a pointed question at the end of this verse. "Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" Here is another way to say that, "Isn't there more to life than what you eat every day? And isn't there more to your body than the clothes you put on it?" In other words, clothes do not make the man! What you wear on the outside does not change who you are inside. That's why a serial killer can wear an expensive business suit and fit in to higher society. No one knows that deep inside he is nothing but a murderer!
Likewise, there is more to life than food (even Mexican food!). I know, here in America we put so much emphasis on what and when to eat and what to wear. A closet full of clothes and nothing to wear?? We are so focused on ourselves and our physical needs that often we neglect service to God because we live only to serve ourselves (one more helping). Let me put our material things in a new light for you - take this test.
1. Do you have more than one change of clothes?
2. Do you have a roof over your head (roof is defined here as any material from shingles, steel, tin, grass, or dirt)?
3. Do you have a mechanical form of transportation (this includes any machine from a bicycle on up to a car)?
If you answered "yes" to all three questions then you are ranked in the very top of the wealth of the world! WAIT a MINUTE? Yes, you heard me correctly - if you have 2 or more sets of clothing, any material roof over your head, and transportation from a bicycle up, then you are more wealthy than most of the people here on planet Earth. It is estimated that as many as 80 to 90% of human beings alive right now do not have these things. Here in America we really don't have a clue as to how good we have it. And we are so worried and occupied with our next meal (Wendy's, McDonalds, Burger King, or Arby's????) and what we are going to adorn ourselves with that often we neglect and just overlook the things God wants to teach us as we trust Him. That is why He doesn't want us to worry - worry is the opposite of faith! We are to trust Him and serve Him gladly - instead we are disabled by our worry and fear - all because we refuse to take Him at His Word.
Life is more than clothes and food - and if you have not come to that realization, then you need to seek Jesus today - you may not know Him! Isn't it silly the things we think about and worry about (and are "concerned" about) when we see the big picture. We have it better then most the world and think about how long it took you to decide what to wear today before you sat down to read this devotional!!
In the coming days, we will look more deeply at why Jesus commands us not to worry - but for now we must simply obey the command - "therefore, do not worry" - there is a lot more to life than the insignificant choice of what to eat and what to wear - let's look beyond those things for the true treasures that God has for us!
What if all we care about is here and now? Read these verses to find out.
Therefore. Remember the rule - whenever we see a "therefore" we ask what it is there for! Jesus has just finished teaching about our hearts. Our attitudes and motives are very important to Him. He came to give us new hearts, hearts that seek to please Him. The command He gives us is plain - store up treasures that are eternal, not temporal, walk in light not darkness, and serve One master, that is God, not possessions!
Therefore - because of these things, don't worry! DON'T WORRY?! What? With all the stress and pressure and work and family and life and people, and all the bad things happening around the world and communism and politicians and racism and hatred and violence and kids killing kids and mothers killing their children and drive by shootings and gangs and drugs and drunk drivers and ...... AND YOU SAY DON'T WORRY?! Wait a minute - Who exactly told us here not to worry? Isn't this Jesus speaking? Isn't this our LORD, our Master? Isn't this God? He says not to worry - and it's a command. It literally means stop worry this instant and don't ever start worrying again!
You see, we worry whenever we take on responsibility that doesn't belong to us. If we are laying up treasures here on earth and being stingy and selfish and walking in darkness, then we have every reason to worry - at any moment we could be destroyed by the way we live! But if we heed His Word and value eternal things and walk in light and serve Him instead of things or self - then what have we to worry about? He is responsible for us. So if we take that responsibility on ourselves then we begin to worry. And Jesus here is talking about basic things - don't worry about food and clothing! Basic, simple, daily necessities. He is telling us that not only should we quit worrying about the "big" things. We should also not worry about the "little" things - the everyday things that we need just to survive.
We must ask a question - Who is in charge? Who is the Master we are serving? If we listened to Jesus and put away our allegiance to things and committed ourselves to serve only God, then if we continue to worry about things, we really aren't serving God are we? Remember, what we believe we act on! Just like the bear chasing us in the woods - whether there is a bear or not if we think the bear is there we RUN! If we bow our will to His and serve Him alone as Master, then we won't worry!
Jesus also asks a pointed question at the end of this verse. "Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" Here is another way to say that, "Isn't there more to life than what you eat every day? And isn't there more to your body than the clothes you put on it?" In other words, clothes do not make the man! What you wear on the outside does not change who you are inside. That's why a serial killer can wear an expensive business suit and fit in to higher society. No one knows that deep inside he is nothing but a murderer!
Likewise, there is more to life than food (even Mexican food!). I know, here in America we put so much emphasis on what and when to eat and what to wear. A closet full of clothes and nothing to wear?? We are so focused on ourselves and our physical needs that often we neglect service to God because we live only to serve ourselves (one more helping). Let me put our material things in a new light for you - take this test.
1. Do you have more than one change of clothes?
2. Do you have a roof over your head (roof is defined here as any material from shingles, steel, tin, grass, or dirt)?
3. Do you have a mechanical form of transportation (this includes any machine from a bicycle on up to a car)?
If you answered "yes" to all three questions then you are ranked in the very top of the wealth of the world! WAIT a MINUTE? Yes, you heard me correctly - if you have 2 or more sets of clothing, any material roof over your head, and transportation from a bicycle up, then you are more wealthy than most of the people here on planet Earth. It is estimated that as many as 80 to 90% of human beings alive right now do not have these things. Here in America we really don't have a clue as to how good we have it. And we are so worried and occupied with our next meal (Wendy's, McDonalds, Burger King, or Arby's????) and what we are going to adorn ourselves with that often we neglect and just overlook the things God wants to teach us as we trust Him. That is why He doesn't want us to worry - worry is the opposite of faith! We are to trust Him and serve Him gladly - instead we are disabled by our worry and fear - all because we refuse to take Him at His Word.
Life is more than clothes and food - and if you have not come to that realization, then you need to seek Jesus today - you may not know Him! Isn't it silly the things we think about and worry about (and are "concerned" about) when we see the big picture. We have it better then most the world and think about how long it took you to decide what to wear today before you sat down to read this devotional!!
In the coming days, we will look more deeply at why Jesus commands us not to worry - but for now we must simply obey the command - "therefore, do not worry" - there is a lot more to life than the insignificant choice of what to eat and what to wear - let's look beyond those things for the true treasures that God has for us!
What if all we care about is here and now? Read these verses to find out.
- Psalm 59:12-15; 78:18-25
- Proverbs 23:4-5, 21
- Isaiah 55:2-3; 65:11-14
- Micah 6:10-15
- Zechariah 7:6-10
posted by Phillip M. Way | 12:50 AM
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