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.