Matthew 6:25 “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?”
Daily living more often than not brings a tug-of-war between the PRESENT EARTHLY MOMENT and the FUTURE ETERNAL MOMENT. The present moment can be all-consuming as we see so many things we don’t have or, worse, may not have. This leads to anxiety or worry. The need for physical nourishment and protection takes center stage and can easily, yes, very easily, squeeze out the ability for spiritual nourishment and involvement. Our desire to survive consumes the mind.
Jesus comes along and challenges this mindset of the PHYSICAL being first. As spiritual beings, the priority order is to be SEEKING FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD! Thus, He confronts one of the most basic actions everyone of us does, stating, “DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR LIFE.” (Sometimes you read something that Jesus says, and you want to reply, “Are You serious?” This is one of those times!)
He not only says DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR LIFE, but He also adds not to worry about the essential elements of life. He tells us not to worry about what we will eat or drink nor worry about the clothes to wear. Now this has moved the command to not worry about our life to a very CHALLENGING level.
We should note that when Jesus says, “Do not WORRY,” He is saying do not let these things consume the mind to the point that it divides the mind. A divided mind will be a paralyzed mind, meaning it can’t function. I have a feeling you have been there before (and maybe there now). The fears of this day are so great that you find that you can’t think straight. You just don’t know WHAT TO DO!
This is not how Jesus wants us to live. Don’t miss His last statement of this verse: IS NOT LIFE MORE (please lock on) MORE than food and the body MORE than clothing? You are MORE than the physical. Life is so much MORE than this temporal, earthly life. You have a soul, and you have a SPIRITUAL life. The spiritual life looks at life from an eternal perspective, not the temporal.
As one approaches Matthew 6:25 with the challenge to NOT WORRYING ABOUT YOUR LIFE one has to know that this is setting one up for the greatest challenge where Jesus will say in His sermon on the mount and that challenge is Matthew 6:33 which you know says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
How does DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR LIFE challenge your thinking?
Continue Strong, by not worrying,
And remember to DATE the Word