Verse of the Week
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:25-34
Typically we start reading these verses starting with "But seek first his kingdom." Personally I think we should memorize the entire thing. It's not a perfect life verse for the worry warts but for everyone really. Those who live in a state of anxiety are easy to spot, but if the truth is told about most Americans, we are all worried about something, but do not consider it worry until it gets to the point of an elevated blood pressure reading. We worry about what time it is, what we will eat, where we are eating, the execution of our agenda for the day, our friends, our family, our dogs, next month's goal, next year's goal, getting older, retirement, vacation days, what will happen while we are on vacation, how much work vacation hands us when we return, whether our kids act well, grade well, excel, graduate with honors, go to a good college, medical bills, utility bills, debt bills, money, money and money. That was exhausting to write and I just named a few.
The things that really stick out to me in these verses in Matthew are:
1. Gods comparison - he takes humans and compares the silliness of their worry to the wonder of birds and lilies. The interesting thing about birds is that they are always singing. That is what birds do. They sing while they work on collecting all sorts of matter to construct their home, they sing while searching for food for their young. They couldn't have a care in the world and it shows up in song. Some of us are worried about getting enough sleep or having to get up to go to work and wish the birds would stop singing.
He compares us to the lilies of the field and then says that Solomon never looked this good. To me, this shows the vanity that both spurs on our worry and is a result of it at the same time. We could never hope to improve on God's finest creation. The Word says we are made in His image. So no amount of money spent on clothing, hair, car or house will ever improve on what He has made. Our vanity causes worry and results in more worry.
2. God's rebuke - He reminds the reader that pagans worry about these things, actually running after them and then turns up the conviction with a simple yet profound statement. He says "and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them", simply, "Don't you think God knows what you need." See it is a sin to worry because when we worry we tell God, "You don't know what it's like! You couldn't possibly understand the pressures of life that I feel!" All the while God is saying, "remember my son, remember the stress that this world put on Him by placing all past, present and future sin on his back. Remember the stress that I put on Him, by turning my back on him while the weight of that sin crushed a beautiful third of the Trinity. Remember!
It's easy to get in the habit of worry. We are human after all. It's easy to not think of worry as being a "big" sin. However I think the true root of worry is a pride that puts God off to the side when problems come our way, forgetting the total sacrifice of Christ, which ultimately leads to worship of self.
Matthew 6:25-34
Typically we start reading these verses starting with "But seek first his kingdom." Personally I think we should memorize the entire thing. It's not a perfect life verse for the worry warts but for everyone really. Those who live in a state of anxiety are easy to spot, but if the truth is told about most Americans, we are all worried about something, but do not consider it worry until it gets to the point of an elevated blood pressure reading. We worry about what time it is, what we will eat, where we are eating, the execution of our agenda for the day, our friends, our family, our dogs, next month's goal, next year's goal, getting older, retirement, vacation days, what will happen while we are on vacation, how much work vacation hands us when we return, whether our kids act well, grade well, excel, graduate with honors, go to a good college, medical bills, utility bills, debt bills, money, money and money. That was exhausting to write and I just named a few.
The things that really stick out to me in these verses in Matthew are:
1. Gods comparison - he takes humans and compares the silliness of their worry to the wonder of birds and lilies. The interesting thing about birds is that they are always singing. That is what birds do. They sing while they work on collecting all sorts of matter to construct their home, they sing while searching for food for their young. They couldn't have a care in the world and it shows up in song. Some of us are worried about getting enough sleep or having to get up to go to work and wish the birds would stop singing.
He compares us to the lilies of the field and then says that Solomon never looked this good. To me, this shows the vanity that both spurs on our worry and is a result of it at the same time. We could never hope to improve on God's finest creation. The Word says we are made in His image. So no amount of money spent on clothing, hair, car or house will ever improve on what He has made. Our vanity causes worry and results in more worry.
2. God's rebuke - He reminds the reader that pagans worry about these things, actually running after them and then turns up the conviction with a simple yet profound statement. He says "and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them", simply, "Don't you think God knows what you need." See it is a sin to worry because when we worry we tell God, "You don't know what it's like! You couldn't possibly understand the pressures of life that I feel!" All the while God is saying, "remember my son, remember the stress that this world put on Him by placing all past, present and future sin on his back. Remember the stress that I put on Him, by turning my back on him while the weight of that sin crushed a beautiful third of the Trinity. Remember!
It's easy to get in the habit of worry. We are human after all. It's easy to not think of worry as being a "big" sin. However I think the true root of worry is a pride that puts God off to the side when problems come our way, forgetting the total sacrifice of Christ, which ultimately leads to worship of self.
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