Out of Control (Matthew 6:25-34)
March 22, 2020
We don't worry, do we? Would anyone here say that they are completely unaffected by recent events? We might even be so bold as to say, "If you aren't worried about these things, you aren't paying enough attention or taking it seriously enough." Have you had to take a break from the TV or social media to focus on other things? I'm feeling the effects of it.
The truth is, this is scary. We do not want people we love to die from this disease. We don't want our healthcare system to get overwhelmed. In Italy, they are leaving people 80 years and older to die because they can't take care of them. But have you ever thought about why everyone is so worked up? As Christians, we are supposed to look at events like this and learn something about ourselves and our culture. What do we need to learn? Let's talk about those fears a little. Let's talk about anxiety. I was planning to teach on Matthew 6:25-34 in a few weeks since we have been working our way through the Sermon on the Mount. But now is a good time for us to turn there and learn about anxiety together from Jesus.
Don't Worry?
Matthew 6:25 (ESV) --- 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?"
To begin our study, we see that Jesus tells us not to be anxious about our lives. The word anxious is the same idea of being excessively worried. Are we overly worried about our lives? Do we have the Jaws theme music playing in the background all the time? Most of us might say no, but if we went out and bought extra toilet paper, maybe we are just a little bit. In this text, Jesus talks about the necessities of life, food, drink, and clothing. These are things we could not live without, but Jesus wants us to stop being anxious about them.
We don't typically worry about food, drink, or clothing. We have a surplus to choose from, or at least we have. The days of famines and droughts affecting us seem to be gone in our country. But imagine what it would be like in those days to go through a famine or a drought. Imagine having to ration food and to deal with starvation. Wouldn't that make us want to store up enough food for the coming months? Should we stop worrying about things that we consider essential?
When Jesus tells us to stop being anxious about our lives, he is telling us to stop getting all worked up and stressed out about the trials and difficulties in life. But I want to tell Jesus that he hasn't had to go without toilet paper or see an empty grocery store. We need to hear these words from Jesus, "Don't worry about your life."
Why Does Jesus Say This?
Notice that Jesus says, "Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" He wants us to think for a moment about our lives. What is my life really all about? That question gets lost in the chaos of our world. But what is our life supposed to be about?
Remember Jesus in Matthew 4? He hadn't eaten for forty days and nights, and Satan told him to turn the stones into bread. Jesus says, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that preceded from the mouth of God." There is more to life than food. Jesus was hungry, but he was not excessively concerned about food. Contrast this with the Israelites who refused to trust God after he sent them manna from heaven. They were told to leave none for the next day, and they decided to keep some, just in case. But it bred worms and stank (Exo 16:16-22). He was trying to teach them that life is about more than food.
What is life all about if it's not about gathering as much food, drinks, clothing, and toilet paper as we can and surviving? Life is about God. We are here for a purpose. What is the purpose? Are we here to build up a massive retirement fund, to accomplish some great work for mankind, to become famous, to enjoy life to the fullest, to live as long as we possibly can, or to keep our relatives and loved ones alive for as long as we can? We would like most of that to happen, but that is not why we are here. God says in Genesis that we were created in his image. Our purpose is to represent God. Peter says that God wanted to create a people for his own possession so that they may proclaim the excellencies of him. Ultimately, our lives are now about becoming to the praise of God's glory. That's why we are here. Worry, fear, and anxiety do not proclaim God's excellence. Focusing on what we will eat, drink, wear, or any other "necessity," excessively does not proclaim God's excellency!
Think About It
Matthew 6:26--30 (ESV) --- 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?
Jesus wants us to take a second and think about God's creation and the way God feels toward us.
Look At The Birds
The birds aren't planting seeds and gathering up a harvest to take care of themselves. They aren't making all kinds of preparations for the next few weeks. They are hard at work and they are finding plenty to satisfy their hunger every day. They do not die because there is a shortage of food. Why not? Because God provides them what they need every day. Jesus says, "Your Heavenly Father feeds them," and "Are you not of more value than they?"
Look At The Lillies
Next, he tells us how lilies aren't working hard to create beautiful clothes for themselves, so that they look fantastic. God gives them a beautiful appearance even though they will only last for a day before being thrown in the oven so we can cook our food. He says that if God is willing to clothe these flowers, will he not much more be willing to clothe those who love him?
If God is willing to provide for the birds and the lilies, will he not provide for us? Do we see what we are doing when we worry excessively about this life? We are saying to God, who has equipped us with everything we enjoy, "You can't help us." That is a smack in the face. We all have pantries stocked with food and we enjoy luxuries that do more than keep us alive. Why? Is it because we worked so hard and deserve so much? No! It's because God has blessed us way beyond what we deserve, not to mention the eternal blessings that await us.
What Does Anxiety Do?
Distracts Us
First, notice that Jesus says anxiety distracts us from our purpose. We spend all this time, "gathering into barns and toiling and sewing." We do all kinds of things and spend all of this time focusing on living longer or enjoying luxuries. We are preparing and preparing without end. But Jesus says that all of that worrying cannot add an hour to our lives. He wants us to rely on God to give us what we need. That does not mean that we live carefree and take every unnecessary risks. But Jesus says that if we do not rely on God for what we need, we have little faith (v. 30). If we are excessively worried about our lives or our luxuries, trying to make everything work out, we have little faith in God's providential love for us. We need great faith.
There is an old English proverb that says, "Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere." Worry stalls out our work for the Lord. We don't take any risks or do things that might further the Lord's glory. We only do what makes us comfortable because we are afraid of discomfort. Think of how many opportunities we have to help people cope with uncertainty when we stop focusing on our needs.
When we feel excessive worry coming on, we ought to know that this is not helping us do what God has called us to do. It makes us do the opposite of what we are supposed to do. Worry makes us feel better, but it only makes us more anxious. It doesn't fix anything. We waste time and energy worrying instead of trusting God and doing what we are called to do.
Entangles Us
Matthew 6:31--32 (ESV) --- 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.
Don't we see how worrying about collecting more and more stuff has impacted the attitudes and the hearts of those around us? People are spending their entire lives working, and now they are waking up to find out that they don't have as much as they thought they did. They are also finding out that they don't even know their kids or their spouses. We are so used to accumulating and consuming that we don't know when to stop, and we are neglecting those we love.
Jesus reassures us in verse 32 that God knows what we need. This is the second time he has said this in the sermon on the mount. Back in verse 8, he said that God knows what we need before we even ask him. He is our Heavenly Father, and he loves us. He holds the future in his hands, he loves us, and he knows what we need.
What Should We Do?
Matthew 6:33 (ESV) --- 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Seek First
The solution is easy to say but difficult to follow through on. Jesus says that we must seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. What does that mean, and how do we do that? Jesus is telling us to have a higher ambition. We do not live just to survive, gather food, and consume it. We are not animals. We understand that God deserves our fullest objective and our deepest concern. If there is something more valuable to us than the kingdom of God, we are called to take the idol down and seek God's kingdom first.
"Seeking the righteousness of God" means that we are not content with our progress and spiritual growth. So far in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has told us that those who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness will be satisfied. He also said that those who's righteousness exceeds the scribes and Pharisees will enter the kingdom. This level of righteousness is what we are striving for with all of our hearts. We glorify God by becoming like him and like Jesus on this earth. Seeking God's kingdom first, and his righteousness makes us totally different from the world.
How difficult is it for us to put the kingdom of God at the forefront? Money is important, but life is not about money. Children are important. They are a gift from God, but life is not about children. Life is not even about staying alive. Life is about glorifying God in whatever situation we find ourselves. We care about money, we care about children, we care about our elderly, we care about our lives, but we must care more about glorifying God more than any of that. That is our purpose in life.
Only Concern Yourself With Today
Matthew 6:34 (ESV) --- 34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
I love this. Now he defines excessively anxious as being anxious about tomorrow. He says that it's okay to be focused on the troubles of today. Today has enough to be concerned about. If things are going great today, soak it up, and don't waste the good day you are having worrying about the bad day you might have tomorrow. He has given us everything we need up until this point, and he promises to provide for us going forward. Instead of having fear about tomorrow, we need to learn how to trust God and focus on today.
Application
I think if we are honest, all of us have been excessively worried about recent events. Our worry has probably fluctuated from under-worried to over-worried and back again. I have read testimonials on Facebook, and it gets me all spooled up. It is as though media and society are pressuring us all to be anxious and worry about the necessities of life. Jesus helps us see three critical ideas in this text about anxiety to help us deal with it and overcome it.
1. Give up control. We have no idea or control over what will happen in the coming weeks. Worrying excessively about tomorrow will not help anything. Today, we could die from driving, from an aneurysm, or a million other things.
Ecclesiastes 7:14 (ESV) --- 14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
We have no control over what tomorrow will bring. This event has helped us realize that truth, so we can overcome our need to control tomorrow.
2. Focus on today and make the most of it. Solomon said this throughout his book of Ecclesiastes. We are here today and gone tomorrow. Tomorrow is probably going to be like today, but it could also be a total reversal of what happened today. We do not know. We have no control or understanding of what tomorrow will bring, and we can do nothing about it. So enjoy God's blessings for today with a desire to please him and spread his glory. Use wisdom as the Proverbs say to extend our lives. Wisdom will extend our lives, but Jesus tells us that worrying does not add an hour.
3. Have Faith. Excessive anxiety is an indicator of how little faith we have. This hits me really hard as I have worried and stressed over so much this week. Like Martha, we make ourselves busy with many things instead of focusing on the most important thing. In times of trouble, remember to nourish your soul with study and prayer. Our prayer life needs to pick up, and we need to lay our fears in the hands of a Heavenly Father who loves us and cares about all that we are going through. We must put him first in our lives.
Jeremiah 2:11--13 (ESV) --- 11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. 12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
This is what anxiety is, a broken cistern, or well. The only way to alleviate any anxiety is to know that there is someone greater than us in control. We can trust his wisdom and power and submit to his rule. We need to value a relationship with God over wealth, long and happy life on this earth, close relationships with others, or anything else because death is inevitable, and all of that stuff will disappear in a moment. God is the only one who has power over death. When we get rid of excessive worry by focusing on his kingdom, God promises to provide what we need until the day he calls us home to be with him for eternity.
Conclusion
As we struggle with anxiety, I hope we see how fruitless it is. We are wasting our lives and insulting the God who blesses us each day. God has given his Son to reassure our hearts. We know that he loves us and wants to forgive us of sin because Jesus died for us. This text has been in my mind a lot lately (Lam 3:22-25).
Lamentations 3:22--25 (ESV) --- 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
Our souls are longing to serve him, and the trials of life are making our flesh rise up. We must beat it down with faith and hope in a God who is on our side and wants to help us in our hour of need.