Matthew 6:25-34 Don't Worry

We live in an age of anxiety. We are anxious about money. We are anxious about safety. We are anxious about the economy and employment. We are anxious about healthcare and disease. We worry, worry, worry, all the time.

Statistics say that about 18.1 percent of American adults between 18 and 54 have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. That is over 40 million adults. Health care professionals estimate that the number should be 30% because many don’t seek help or don’t know that they have a problem with anxiety. 43 percent of North Americans take mood altering prescriptions regularly. Paxil and Zoloft (two of the most popular anxiety medications) totaled $5 Billion in sales in 2002.

6.8 Million Americans, or 3.1 % of the population suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder. 2.2 Million, or 1% of the population suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 6 Million, or 2.7% of the population suffers from Panic Disorder. 7.7 Million or 3.5% suffer from PTSD. And 15 Million or 6.8% of the population suffers from Social Anxiety Disorder.

We live in an anxious age. So many people are anxious, and there are often good reasons to be anxious. What Jesus says in today’s passage has a clear application for us today, but it is hard. Jesus isn’t telling us what to do here. He isn’t telling us what to think. He’s telling us how to feel. Now this is really hard. Most of us probably are under the assumption that we can’t control how we feel about something, but that’s not the picture we get from the Bible. The God of the Bible is a God who has the right to command our emotions. He commands us to love him above all else. He commands us to rejoice. He commands us to fear not. Here, he commands us not to worry.

Let’s look at what Jesus is saying to us:

25 “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.

Jesus repeats his command three times to show us how important it is. In verse 25 he says, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious…” Then, in verse 31 he says, “Therefore do not be anxious…” And again in verse 34 he says, “Therefore do not be anxious…” The Lord Jesus Christ has the right, he has the authority, to command us not to be anxious.

This is hard. I will admit that I am part of the statistics. I take a medication daily that helps with depression and anxiety. I don’t think that we can take this passage and say that Jesus is anti-medication; however, from experience I can tell you that medication alone is not the answer. Taking a pill for anxiety doesn’t make your problems go away; it just helps you think clearly to cope with them. I am no psychologist; I’m just a preacher. So I won’t pretend to be a clinical counselor. What God’s word has to say to us about anxiety is good news. If you suffer from anxiety, and if you are on medication, I’m not saying to stop taking your medication. What I’m saying is the medication isn’t enough. The true cure for anxiety that brings a peace which passes all understanding is to trust in a God who loves and cares for his children. The answer is faith--that is reminding ourselves of God's care for us.

Next, Jesus tells us specifically what we shouldn’t worry about. He says not to be anxious about, “your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.” The things he tells us not to worry about are simple. Food, drink, clothing. This is important because the things he lists are all things that we all have need of. Everyone needs to eat and drink. Everyone needs clothing. Without those things we would be destitute. To many of us, it may seem silly to worry about these things. If we want a drink, we go to the tap and turn on the water and there is no cause for worry. If we are hungry, we can go to our refrigerator or our pantry and find something to eat, or maybe we can just go to a restaurant and order whatever we feel like. And clothing—many of us have more clothes than we have room for in our closets. We might have to purge our wardrobes to make room. We live in a wealthy society where many of us don’t have to worry about these things. Not because of any spiritual reason, like we are trusting in a heavenly Father to take care of us, but because there is so much abundance we just take these things for granted.

However, there are some who do worry about these things. There are some who live in poverty. Our economy is such that some in our society have little left for food when they pay all their other bills. We don’t often think about this fact, but there are probably many children even in Bond County who go to bed hungry most nights.

The first reason Jesus gives us not to worry is that there are more important things than food, drink, and clothing. Whether we are well off so that we take food, water, and clothing for granted, or we are poor, Jesus here is telling us that “life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.” In the passage we looked at last week, Jesus told us not to store up treasures on earth, but to store up treasure in heaven. What he says in today’s passage is built on what we looked at last week. The things of this world will all pass away, but what we do that effects eternity matters ultimately.

Then Jesus gives us comfort by telling us that our Father will care for our needs. He uses two examples where he moves from the lesser to the greater. First, Jesus tells us to “look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Birds! Birds! God takes care of the birds. It’s like the song, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.” This isn’t difficult to understand. We can observe in nature that God provides even for tiny little birds. They don’t have to work through the year and save up to make it through. God provides for them day by day what they need. If God cares so much about birds, how much MORE does he care about us?

The other example he gives us are flowers. Jesus says, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will ne not much more clothe you?” Again Jesus uses the same logic. We don’t think of flowers as dressing in clothing, yet God has made flowers as beautiful to point to his own character. Jesus tells us that the richest king in the Old Testament, Solomon himself, didn’t have clothing that was as beautiful as what God has designed for flowers. These flowers are here temporarily. They may live today and shrivel up and die tomorrow. Once these once beautiful flowers are dead, they aren’t good for anything other than kindling for a fire.

So again, Jesus gives us comfort, he says that if God cares so much to make beautiful adornment for flowers, then we can trust that God will take care of us and give us the clothing we need.

In between these two examples, Jesus gave us another one that teaches something slightly different. He asks the question, “And which one of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Other translations may say “can add one cubit to his stature.” Either way you take it, the point is clear. There are some things that aren’t worth worrying about because they are outside of our control. We can’t make ourselves any taller by worrying. We cannot add an hour to our life span by worrying. Those things are not in our control; they are controlled and determined by a loving heavenly Father.

And our anxiety is often rooted in what Jesus says at the end of verse 30. He says, “O you of little faith.”

Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. Don’t take me for one of the prosperity preachers who says that if anything negative happens to you it must be because you don’t have enough faith. That’s not what Jesus means. However, when we are anxious about these things it is incompatible with trusting in a father who cares for us. When we are tempted to be anxious, the greatest cure is to remind ourselves of the promises of God. To believe what he says here. If he takes care of birds, God will certainly take care of me.

So far Jesus has given us three reasons not to worry. 1. Don’t worry, because there are more important things than food, drink and, clothing. 2. Don’t worry because if God cares for small things like birds and flowers, he will care for his children who are of more value. 3. Don’t worry because we can’t do anything to control it anyway.

Then Jesus turns to tell us what we should pursue. He says not to worry about food, drink, or clothing because the Gentiles, or the Pagans, seek after these things. Those who do not know God pursue after these things because to them they are ultimate. All of their pursuits are for material goods. The Christian should have a different pursuit. Jesus tells us, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Now, Jesus isn’t saying that we don’t really need food and clothing. In fact, he tells us, “your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” He isn’t telling us to deny the need. Rather, he is telling us to trust a loving Father.

What Jesus tells us to do is to redirect our focus. If we are worried about food and clothing, we are acting like Pagans who pursue those things as an ultimate goal. So we must change the direction of our pursuit. Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Seek after heavenly things. In Colossians 3:2, Paul echoes this thought. “Set your minds on things above, not on things that are on earth.”

Finally, Jesus tells us “do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Basically, Jesus is telling us not to worry about the future. Take one day at a time. Most of the time when we worry about the future the things we are worried about never come to pass. It isn’t worth it to worry about the future. Trust it into God’s hands.

Now, let’s take a step back. Let’s remember who Jesus is talking to. He’s talking to his disciples. This message that Jesus gives us is not any help to the unbeliever. In fact, Jesus says, “the Gentiles seek after all these things…” but his disciples are to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” If you are a believer here today, these words should speak comfort to your soul. We come to Jesus who gives us rest for our souls. We don’t have to worry because a loving Father cares for our needs.

This comfort, this cure for anxiety, is offered to believers. What if you are here today and have never trusted in Christ? Your life will continue to be full of anxiety. You work and labor and try to keep your life together, but you can’t do it. You may be able to for a while, but at some point it will all fall apart. You won’t be able to keep all of your plates spinning. It will all come crashing down. To you who are filled with anxiety and worry, to you who are trying to keep your life together in your own effort, Jesus offers rest. Stop trying to do it yourself. Stop trying to be good enough on your own. Trust in Jesus who gave his life for you. Come be accepted in the arms of the Father.

Jesus Confronts the American Dream

We do live in a great country. We live in a land that for over 200 years religious liberty has flourished. We are able to meet together, to pray, to preach the gospel and evangelize our neighbors. The free press allows us to broadcast the Gospel by radio and publish Christian books and magazines freely and without fear of state sponsored persecution. These freedoms are what make our country truly great. Many of the early colonists who came to America were fleeing religious persecution because they wanted to worship according to their conscience, and this conflicted with what the official Church of England required. In England, men like John Bunyan were jailed for daring to preach the Gospel without permission from the state. Many Separatists and Baptists fled England to make this land their home. And so it is that the early American Dream was to come to a land where they would be free to worship God according to their consciences. For this American Dream, we can be thankful. We celebrate the Fourth of July this week, and God has truly shed his grace on us by allowing such liberty to flourish.

However, there is another version of the American Dream. When some speak of the American Dream, they mean the dream of acquiring more stuff, of getting more money, and whoever dies with the most toys wins. Believers must reject this version of the American Dream. It comes in direct conflict with what Jesus tells us in today’s text.

Today’s passage has three parts. In verses 19-21, Jesus is telling us about the treasure in our hearts. In verse 24, Jesus warns that we cannot serve two masters—God and Money—we have to choose one. In between these verses about money and treasure, are two verses that don’t seem to fit. Jesus is talking about the eye being the lamp of the body and how a healthy eye leads to a healthy body. That’s the hardest part of today’s passage, so before I read the text, I think that because it is placed between these two passages on treasure that the evil eye that it is talking about is an envious eye. It is an eye that always wants more of what it sees.

Let’s read from Matthew 6:19-24:

19“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 

20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,

23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

What is your treasure? What is your master? What is it that you desire? These three questions all ask the same thing. We can sum up the point of what Jesus is saying here as “Do not make earthly treasure your ultimate aim but be generous, and demonstrate that money is not your master but Jesus is.” Let’s look at each part in turn.

First, Jesus says to us, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Jesus warns us about having too much money. In our world today, that seems absurd. The rich often have an insatiable appetite for more riches. Reportedly it was John D. Rockefeller, America’s first billionaire, who was once asked, “How much money will be enough?” and he said, “Just a little bit more.” None of us will be likely to ever see a billion dollars, but we can fall into this temptation as well. We want the new car, the new device, or maybe just a little more money in the bank so we can feel secure. Jesus warns us that this is dangerous.

He tells us, if you store up treasure here on earth, there is always something that can happen to it that will make it all go away. Your earthly possessions can be stolen. You could have a fire and lose everything in a moment. If all you are living for is getting all you can here, you are in for a disappointment. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon says that the pursuit of money is vanity. You can spend a lifetime accumulating wealth, and when you are dead you leave it to someone who never had to work for it and you have no control over how it is used anymore.

But Jesus gives us an alternative strategy. Store up treasure in heaven. Jesus tells us that our treasure is secure in heaven. It cannot be stolen, and it cannot be destroyed. Now, there are two ways to look at this and I think that they both have merit. First and foremost, our greatest treasure should be Jesus himself. We ought to treasure Jesus more than we do anything else. So much, that even if we lose everything on earth, we haven’t lost our true treasure. The other way we store up treasure in heaven is by being generous. Just a few verses ago, Jesus was telling us about giving to the poor. We ought to give in secret, and our Father who sees in secret will reward us. When you give generously, to the relief of the poor, to the church, for the cause of missions throughout the world, and to help our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need, you are storing up treasure in heaven. There was once a popular sermon illustration that said you would never see a hearse with a trailer hitch. That illustration was recently ruined when someone took a picture of a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer and posted it on Facebook. But the point is still true. You won’t take any of your possessions with you when you die. But as some have said, “you can send it ahead.” When you give generously for God’s glory and not your own, you store up treasure in heaven. You will receive a reward. And what’s also true, when you give generously for God’s glory, you reveal what your real treasure is. That’s what Jesus gets to in verse 21. Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If you give generously for God’s glory, you show that your money isn’t your real treasure—it is God. What is the desire of your heart? What do you treasure in your heart more than anything? Is it money or stuff? Then you will never have enough, it will leave you unsatisfied, and it will always be in danger of being lost. If it is God, then you won’t cling tightly to your money or your stuff.

Next, Jesus says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” This takes some explanation, and to be honest it is a difficult passage so I’m not sure that I’m right, but this seems to be the best explanation I have for now. First, “the eye is the lamp of the body” means that it is through our eyes we gain light and knowledge of things outside of ourselves. Jesus contrasts a healthy eye and a bad eye. I don’t think that these should be understood as physically healthy, but rather morally. An evil eye would be full of greed, wanting everything it sees. But a healthy, good eye, by contrast would be generous. A good eye would be looking for ways to serve others and give to those in need.

When we see treasure, money, the newest car or device, are we filled with greed and the need to have it? This teaches the same truth as the passage before. What does your heart desire? What do your eyes desire. Treasure for yourself on earth, or treasure in heaven?

Finally, Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Now, we may be able to think of a situation where a person can serve two “bosses.” Maybe you have two jobs, and you serve one when you are at one job, and the other when you are at the other job. But what happens when the bosses want opposing things. Both jobs require you to be there for the same hours, or maybe the two jobs are for competing companies. You may find yourself in an impossible situation. Jesus is telling us here that God is an exclusive master. If he is our Lord, he requires our total allegiance—he will share it with no one and no thing.

And we will serve a master. Bob Dylan famously wrote a song called, “You Gotta Serve Somebody.” In it the refrain keeps repeating, “But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes Indeed you're gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody.” Dylan’s words reflect on a spiritual truth. We all serve somebody, and God is a jealous master. You cannot serve both God and money. So you can work and slave away at getting more stuff, and filling your bank account with more, or you can serve God, and recognize that all that you have belongs to him. And you can freely and generously give for God’s glory.

Now, as usual, I am always on the look out to be sure that I’m preaching the Gospel and not just moralism. At this point, with what we have heard from God’s word, we can all be either patting ourselves on the back because we think God owes us for how much we have already given, or we can be discouraged because we realize we have misplaced our priorities, and we have been storing up treasures that won’t last.

This brings us to the Gospel. Jesus has been telling us that we should store up treasures in heaven, and not on earth. But remember what it was that he did for us. He gave up the riches of heaven and became poor, so that we might become rich in him. We would have no way to store up treasure apart from the work that he has done on our behalf. Our generosity means nothing before God if it does not come from a regenerated heart. There are many philanthropists who give money to the poor, to children’s hospitals, and other good causes, that are not motivated by the desire for God’s glory. Anyone can give because it makes them feel good and be honored by others, but the believer’s generosity was bought by Jesus’ blood.

And now, because Jesus gave up everything for us, we love him because he first loved us. And because he gave up heaven for us, we will be willing to give up our earthly treasure for anything that he may call us to.

For one who may be here today who is not a believer, Jesus is calling you to repent. If you aren’t a believer today, your treasure is all here. Some thief may take your money. It may burn in a fire and be destroyed. Ultimately, you will one day die, and then what happens with all your stuff? If you believe this world is all that there is, what a hopeless existence that must be. Jesus calls you to repent. Turn away from the way you think. From believing that your earthly treasure is what matters most. And you will receive the greatest treasure that no one can every take from you.