“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? And which of you by worrying can add a single day to his life’s span? And why are you worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ~ Matthew 6:25-34 [*]
Anxiety is an emotion arising from a lack of trust in God for not providing desires out of our control or fear of what others may think about us if we do not have them. Anxiety affects many people all over the world. In her May 11, 2017, TEDx talk, “How to cope with anxiety,” Olivia Remes of the University of Cambridge shared that anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders, with one out of fourteen people around the world likely affected. And that each year it costs over $42 billion to treat. It may lead to other conditions such as depression, increased risk for suicide, disability, and requirement of high health services.”[1]
It is important to note that there is good fear and bad fear. In the original Greek, the New Testament gives three different words which translate as fear: the noun δέος (deos), verb δείδια noun φόβος (phobos), verb φοβέομαι (phobiomai). The noun δέος (deos) and the corresponding verb δείδια derive from the root *dw– / *du-, meaning ‘two,’ which is also attested in the Latin noun dubium, meaning ‘doubt.’ Thus, when in doubt one may feel “two ways” about something. Next, φόβος (phobos), φοβέομαι, come from the root *bhegh– ‘run.’[2] So, this describes what happens in our brains as God created them hardwired for fear — it helps us identify and avoid threats to our safety. The critical node in our fear wiring is the amygdala, a paired, almond-shaped structure deep within the brain involved in emotion and memory.[3] The amygdala controls the reverent fear in the presence of the Holy God (Isai. 6; Luke 8:37) and the fight or flight reaction to something harmful. However, an unholy fear leads to anxiety and other issues, as mentioned above.
First, one must understand that the problem with the world’s practice of dealing with anxiety is where it places the power, which is in the person. However, no one can stop the plan of God from happening, good or bad. We cannot manage God’s Sovereignty, no matter how meaningful and comprehensive we think we can make it. So, when these curve balls of life happen, how can we practice God’s solutions to worry and fear and become valuable servants for God and experience peace in our hearts? We must look only to Scripture. Jesus teaches us there are three aspects of worry because we mishandle the moment:[4] 1) We have the wrong concerns and priorities, 2) We manage our legitimate concerns the wrong way, and 3) We depend on the wrong person (Matt. 6:25-34). Like anger that rises in our hearts because we feel things we treasure or, most important to us, threatened; so, the things that worry us are the most important things to us. Our anxieties always reveal our priorities. We never worry about things that are unimportant to us.
In the context of the passage, as Jesus’s audience stares out and looks upon the hills around them, the sea, and Galilee itself; Jesus brings to their mind the wrongful teachings of their day by the Pharisees that if God blesses you, you are one of God’s people when you have a lot of wealth. And He shows the world’s wrongful teaching, the Gentiles of verse thirty-two, who says this is the strife of life. And he tells them what shows others you have made it, treasure in barns, nice clothes, and much food is not God’s standards. Our anxiety manifests when we worry about things that are ungodly personal priorities.
Jesus teaches us that most of our worries about what we wear result from our priority to be accepted by others. We want to have a certain kind of clothing to impress others or bolster our sagging pride. God condemns this priority (2 Cor. 10:12), and God tells us in Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man lays a snare….” Similarly, many of our financial worries have come because we purchased things to satisfy our lusts. We worry about where we will get the money to pay our debts. God is concerned, however, about when we will change our value system (1 Tim. 6:6-11). Before we can overcome the sinful habit of worry in cases like these, we must be ready to repent of sinful priorities that lead to trouble in the first place.[5]
Finally, one might divide Mathew. 6:25-34 into three parts from verses 25, 31, and 34. Each verse begins with, “therefore, do not be anxious about [your life; food, water, clothes; tomorrow]. The translation for “anxious” and “worry” is “take thought.” “Therefore, do not take thought [of these things].” The original Greek word for anxious itself means “to divide. The implication: A sinful care, or a sinful thought, then, is something that divides the heart (as noted above, double-mindedness; serving two masters) and distracts it from God. If our concerns are priorities to God, He has already instructed us with biblical strategies for dealing with them.
For example, a godly parent may be concerned about a wayward child. Proverbs give abundant instruction on responding to someone who has chosen the ways of foolishness instead of the paths of wisdom.
Another example of legitimate care was Paul’s concern about the condition of the churches he started (2 Cor. 11:28). He did something about it – God’s way. He visited them, prayed for them, wrote letters rebuking and instructing them, and sent messengers to minister to them.
There is a biblical way to manage any concern that is a concern to God. However, we are unfamiliar with the Scriptures. We do not know God’s words. We, therefore, “lean…unto [our] own understanding” (Prov. 3:5) and end up worrying and fretting our concerns.
When we look closely at what Jesus is saying here, we do not do this. Instead, we are to seek God’s plan of which our lives are a part. We are to manage our “concerns” by being concerned about God’s concerns. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33).
Seek means to try to learn where something is or find as searching for what is lost seek. To attempt to learn something by careful investigation or to explore. Seeking in the present context speaks of a single-minded focus, as when one’s eye is “single,” or clear. And, it is in the present imperative so what Jesus is saying is that the antidote to worrying is to make a daily choice, your habitual practice to prioritize God’s kingdom and righteousness. The world will not stop tempting you to seek its passing pleasures, and one of the best “defenses” is a good “offense,” in this case seeking the things above where the King sits at the right hand of His Father.
Finally, the One we turn to when we have a problem is the One we trust most to help. If you discuss your concerns with God and seek His thoughts about your circumstances, you believe He has the solution to your problem. You are dependent upon God. However, not seeking Him is the struggle with our fallen human nature. Our lives are not God-centered, even in how we understand the things that are not lasting. Look at the first part of verse 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?” Working back up the passage, verses 26 and 27, the Heavenly Father feeds the birds. “Are you not worth more than they are” If God provides for birds, He will indeed care for His people.[6] The birds depend upon God, and we should as well. Why? Because we cannot even “add one hour to his life span.” One could understand this phrase as adding a cubit (about eighteen inches) to one’s height or a short length of time to one’s life. Given the context, it is likely Jesus was referring to life span.[7]
And then verse thirty-four, tomorrow. Oh, how tomorrow is a constant anxiety for so many people. Tomorrow brings into our hearts and minds the “what if” game. We think things like, “I have to do this,” or “we must do that” because: “what if we need to get a new roof,” “what if I don’t make the baseball team,” “what if I never get married.”
Jesus says, “tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” Jesus is not telling people to postpone their worrying for a day; He instructs them to stop worrying altogether and rely on God’s gracious provision. Each day has enough trouble of its own. There is no sense in adding additional worry. Trusting in the Father’s provision serves as an antidote to anxiety.[8]
Jesus’s exhortation/command here clearly calls for dependence on the Spirit, not the self. We need supernatural sufficiency, not self-sufficiency, to obey this exhortation. Be filled (controlled) by the Spirit. Walk by the Spirit. Do not grieve the Spirit. Do not quench the Spirit. Then He will enable you to scrap the worries of earth and replace them with wonders of heaven and eternity, which is always a good antidote for temporal concern. He will enable us to fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2). He will enable us to gird our minds for action, keep sober in spirit and set our hearts completely on future grace, the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1Pe 1:13) He will enable us to think upon the things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, and things worthy of praise (cp Phil 4:8). As someone once said, “Worrying is paying interest on troubles that may never come due!”[9]
[1] Olivia Remes, “How to Cope with Anxiety,” TEDx (May 11, 2017), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWloIAQpMcQ. Accessed on August 16, 2021.
[2] Gregory Nagy, “The Subjectivity of Fear as Reflected in Ancient Greek Wording,” The Center for Hellenic Studies (November 02, 2020). https://chs.harvard.edu/curated-article/gregory-nagy-the-subjectivity-of-fear-as-reflected-in-ancient-greek-wording/. Accessed on June 01, 2022.
[3] Jeff Forrey, “The Neuron Structure, (lecture, Birmingham Theological Seminary, GoToTrainingTM online meeting, 01/31/22, 6:30-9:30 EST).
[4] Jim Berg, Changed into His Image (Grenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 2000), 246-352.
[5] Berg, 347.
[6] John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Mt 6:26.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
* New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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