do not worry

Master want me to do with a property or an opportunity?”

The Disciple’s Trust

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? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

—Matthew 6:25–34

This section begins with the word “therefore,” a word which is a bridge, tying this section to the one just preceding. Someone has said that when we see the word “therefore” we should see what it is there for! Jesus is emphasizing that, having decided to serve one Master, it follows that we perform the duties of obedience. As servants, we look to our Master for His care and trust Him for our well-being. This call to trust God is an answer to the human tendency to worry. We find it easier to feel secure with things that we can control and, when something is beyond our control, we worry. But, when we have found the greater security in God, we can trust Him for our needs. Christ calls us to give up our limited securities for the greater security in His grace.

Jesus presents evidence that worry is irreverent, for it fails to recognize the God who gave us life and is sustaining it. Worry is irrelevant; it does not change things, nor does it help us in coping with problems. And worry is irresponsible; it burns up psychic energy without using it to apply constructive action to the problem. Jesus used the birds of the air to illustrate freedom from anxiety, the lilies of the field to illustrate freedom from status-seeking, and the grass of the field to illustrate our need to assess priorities. Interspersed with His illustrations are His admonitions. In verse 27, He says that by worry we cannot add to our span of life; we may even limit it! In verse 32, He contrasts the way of the members of the kingdoms of this world with the way of the children of the Father.

The basis of our trust is confidence in the King. We believe that God is the primary actor on the stage of history. We trust His sovereign providence, believing that He is holding back the end, the final judgment of history, for the sake of His work of grace. When we are truly kingdom members, having been born into the kingdom by the Spirit, it follows that our highest purpose is “the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” This concentration on doing God’s will is the positive answer to worry, but it is also and primarily a direction for positive action as a lifestyle. But even in reading verse 33 the tendency to worry emerges, for we ask about the meaning of the clause, “all these things will be added to you.” To ask at once how material these things are is a reaction which exposes our materialism. The passage calls us to seek first the kingdom and leave the secondary matters to His providential care. Jesus concludes by saying that we are to live one day at a time. The problems of each day are sufficient for the present. We are to face given problems in faith and not invite additional concerns.

¹

Matthew 6 concludes with our Lord talking about other things that are material. He tells us that we are not to give much thought to our material needs. For example, the Lord says:

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? [Matt. 6:26].

Birds cannot sow. Birds cannot reap. Birds cannot gather anything into barns, but you and I can. We are to sow, reap, and gather with the same abandon that a little bird has. The little bird is trusting God to take care of him, and we are to trust Him, also. “Are ye not much better than they?” This does not mean that we shouldn’t exercise judgment, because God has given us this ability. Once a Christian asked me, “Do you think a Christian ought to have insurance?” My reply was, “Yes!” Insurance is one means we have today to put our minds at ease concerning the care of our families and ourselves. The important thing is that we are not to go through life with material things becoming a burden to us.

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin [Matt. 6:28].

In this verse the question is asked, “Why take ye thought for raiment?” Think of the time that is consumed by both men and women when it comes to buying clothes. And almost everyone has had the experience at some time of saying,“I can’t go tonight, I don’t have the right suit or dress to wear.” Well, consider the lilies of the field. They cannot toil or spin, and yet God takes care of them. Of course, a Christian should dress as well as he can. To be slovenly in dress or in any action is not honoring to God. Our Lord called attention to the beauty of the flowers—

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these [Matt. 6:29].

I think He wants us to be as beautiful as possible. Some of us don’t have much to work with, but we ought to do the best we can with what we’ve got.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to–day is, and to–morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? [Matt. 6:30].

We are not to be overly anxious about the things of this world. Material things should not be the goal of our life.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof [Matt. 6:33–34].

“Take … no thought for the morrow” means no anxious thought. He takes care of the flowers and the birds, and He will take care of you. But the important thing is to put Him first in our life.

As someone has said, “Today is the tomorrow that we worried about yesterday.” How true that is for many of us!²

We are accustomed to dividing life into the “spiritual” and the “material”; but Jesus made no such division. In many of His parables, He made it clear that a right attitude toward wealth is a mark of true spirituality (see Luke 12:13ff; 16:1–31). The Pharisees were covetous (Luke 16:14) and used religion to make money. If we have the true righteousness of Christ in our lives, then we will have a proper attitude toward material wealth.

Nowhere did Jesus magnify poverty or criticize the legitimate getting of wealth. God made all things, including food, clothing, and precious metals. God has declared that all things He has made are good (Gen. 1:31). God knows that we need certain things in order to live (Matt. 6:32). In fact, He has given us “richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17). It is not wrong to possess things, but it is wrong for things to possess us. The sin of idolatry is as dangerous as the sin of hypocrisy! There are many warnings in the Bible against covetousness (Ex. 20:17; Ps. 119:36; Mark 7:22; Luke 12:15ff; Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5).

Jesus warned against the sin of living for the things of this life. He pointed out the sad consequences of covetousness and idolatry.

Enslavement (vv. 19–24). Materialism will enslave the heart (Matt. 6:19–21), the mind (Matt. 6:22–23), and the will (Matt. 6:24). We can become shackled by the material things of life, but we ought to be liberated and controlled by the Spirit of God.

If the heart loves material things, and puts earthly gain above heavenly investments, then the result can only be a tragic loss. The treasures of earth may be used for God. But if we gather material things for ourselves, we will lose them; and we will lose our hearts with them. Instead of spiritual enrichment, we will experience impoverishment.

What does it mean to lay up treasures in heaven? It means to use all that we have for the glory of God. It means to “hang loose” when it comes to the material things of life. It also means measuring life by the true riches of the kingdom and not by the false riches of this world.

Wealth not only enslaves the heart, but it also enslaves the mind (Matt. 6:22–23). God’s Word often uses the eye to represent the attitudes of the mind. If the eye is properly focused on the light, the body can function properly in its movements. But if the eye is out of focus and seeing double, it results in unsteady movements. It is most difficult to make progress while trying to look in two directions at the same time.

If our aim in life is to get material gain, it will mean darkness within. But if our outlook is to serve and glorify God, there will be light within. If what should be light is really darkness, then we are being controlled by darkness; and outlook determines outcome.

Finally, materialism can enslave the will (Matt. 6:24). We cannot serve two masters simultaneously. Either Jesus Christ is our Lord, or money is our lord. It is a matter of the will. “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare” (1 Tim. 6:9). If God grants riches, and we use them for His glory, then riches are a blessing. But if we will to get rich, and live with that outlook, we will pay a great price for those riches.

Devaluation (vv. 25–30). Covetousness will not only cheapen our riches, but it will also cheapen us! We will start to become worried and anxious, and this anxiety is unnatural and unspiritual. The person who pursues money thinks that riches will solve his problems, when in reality, riches will create more problems! Material wealth gives a dangerous, false sense of security, and that feeling ends in tragedy. The birds and lilies do not fret and worry; yet they have God’s wealth in ways that man cannot duplicate. All of nature depends on God, and God never fails. Only mortal man depends on money, and money always fails.

Jesus said that worry is sinful. We may dignify worry by calling it by some other name—concern, burden, a cross to bear—but the results are still the same. Instead of helping us live longer, anxiety only makes life shorter (Matt. 6:27). The Greek word translated take no thought literally means “to be drawn in different directions.” Worry pulls us apart. Until man interferes, everything in nature works together, because all of nature trusts God. Man, however, is pulled apart because he tries to live his own life by depending on material wealth.

God feeds the birds and clothes the lilies. He will feed and clothe us. It is our “little faith” that hinders Him from working as He would. He has great blessings for us if only we will yield to Him and live for the riches that last forever.

Loss of testimony (vv. 31–33). To worry about material things is to live like the heathen! If we put God’s will and God’s righteousness first in our lives, He will take care of everything else. What a testimony it is to the world when a Christian dares to practice Matthew 6:33! What a tragedy it is when so many of us fail to practice it.

Loss of joy today (v. 34). Worrying about tomorrow does not help either tomorrow or today. If anything, it robs us of our effectiveness today—which means we will be even less effective tomorrow. Someone has said that the average person is crucifying himself between two thieves: the regrets of yesterday and the worries about tomorrow. It is right to plan for the future and even to save for the future (2 Cor. 12:14; 1 Tim. 5:8). But it is a sin to worry about the future and permit tomorrow to rob today of its blessings.

Three words in this section point the way to victory over worry: (1) faith (Matt. 6:30), trusting God to meet our needs; (2) Father (Matt. 6:32), knowing He cares for His children; and (3) first (Matt. 6:33), putting God’s will first in our lives so that He might be glorified. If we have faith in our Father and put Him first, He will meet our needs.

Hypocrisy and anxiety are sins. If we practice the true righteousness of the kingdom, we will avoid these sins and live for God’s glory.³

26–32. Jesus illustrated His point by referring to objects in nature which were immediately at hand: the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. Though the birds which fly through the skies appeared not to labor, your heavenly Father feedeth them. How does God accomplish this? He does it through the normal process of nature. Consider the lilies; (vs. 28) they appear to do nothing for themselves and yet God, through the process of nature which He controls, does clothe the grass of the field (vs. 30). Even Solomon, the great and wealthy king of Israel, was not arrayed in any greater beauty than the flowers of the field which God has made.

The key point of this passage is found in the phrases Are ye not much better than they? (vs. 26) and shall he not much more clothe you? (vs. 30). The Bible makes it clear that God is the Creator and sustainer of nature. He is not divorced from the world which He has made. Indeed, “this is my Father’s world!” Worry and anxiety are related to the length of one’s life in the phrase add one cubit unto his stature. A cubit is a measurement of about eighteen inches. However, this reference is probably not to one’s actual height but to the length of his life. The term “stature” (Gr hēlikia) may in this place mean “age.” Thus the idea seems to be that a man cannot add the smallest measure to the span of his life by worrying. In fact, modern medicine would tell us that worry actually shortens one’s life. This state of anxiety is related to having little faith (vs. 30). Faith is total confidence in the provision of God. Faith in salvation is a total trusting of the complete work of Christ on the cross on our behalf. The Scripture reminds: “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). Therefore, a lack of faith will lead to a life of psychological anxiety. Since this lack of faith is identified with sin, Adams is correct in asserting that man’s emotional problems stem from his sin (J. Adams, Christian Counselors’ Manual. p. 117 ff.). In the Sermon on the Mount we have then, not only a directive for spiritual well-being, but the model of a manual of mental health as well.

33–34. This portion of the Sermon on the Mount is summarized by the statement seek ye first the kingdom of God. The disciples who have pledged their allegiance to the King must continue seeking the kingdom and its righteousness. The present imperative form of the verb (Gr zētō) indicates a continual or constant seeking. The word first indicates one’s first and ever dominant concern. The contrast between the spiritual and the material is again emphasized. The believer is to seek first the righteousness that is characteristic of God’s kingdom and then all these things (i.e., material things) shall be added unto him. Seeking the kingdom of God involves a continued hunger and thirst after righteousness. We are not only to seek the kingdom of God in the sense that we set our affections on things above, we must also positively seek holiness in righteousness. The continual seeking here is similar to that of the seeking face of God. A true believer is never falsely content with what he has in Christ, but is continually seeking to know Him better. Thus, we could say: “Keep seeking the kingdom of God” and as you do He will continually provide your needs. When our priority is spiritual, God will take care of the material, for where God guides, He provides. We need not even worry about tomorrow for Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (vs. 34). This means that each day has its own troubles and challenges to be responsibly handled, without worrying about the hypothetical problems which could arise tomorrow. God is ever pictured in Scripture as the God of the present. Today is the day of salvation.⁴

The five statements of ‘worry’ (6:25–34) that characterise the person whose treasures are on earth, are removed for the person whose treasure is in heaven.

They do not worry about food (6:25, 31). Food is necessary to the body and we are obligated to work for our food. The difference is that, ‘pagans run after these things’ (6:32). In contrast, we are to ‘seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given you as well’ (6:33). The goal is the kingdom and righteousness of God, and in consequence other issues, including food, will find their true perspective and we will find their provision. When our treasure is on earth, earthly considerations inevitably dominate our values, with food taking on greater aesthetic and social significance. When our treasures are in heaven, we may enjoy these material provisions as fully if not more fully than anyone else, but they hold a different status. They serve us, rather than master us.

When Jesus said about this, ‘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’ (6:26) he is not saying we are not responsible to provide food for our families. Birds don’t sit in their nests, mouths open, while God rains food on them! Birds work hard to gather food for themselves and their young, but the role of the heavenly Father is in providing the food to be gathered. Paul tells the Thessalonians that he gave them a rule, If a man will not work he shall not eat’ (2 Thess. 3:10). The rule is not if a man ‘cannot’ work (there are some who are physically unable and others for whom there is no work to do), but in principle we are obligated to earn our own keep and provide our own needs. The point here is that when our goal is God’s interests we do not worry about that provision, any more than the birds do.

They do not worry about clothes (6:28–30). In a materialistic society clothes take on great significance, as they portray an external image to the world whose approval is a determining factor in our behaviour. Image becomes everything! In contrast to this source of anxiety Jesus said, ‘See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you not even Solomon in all his splendour 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’ (6:28–30). True beauty is not created on the surface, it is the outward expression of the inward person. It is the inner person that finds its peace and security in God.

They do not worry about the length of life (6:27, 34). When living with an eternal dimension in view, death has lost its threat. For those whose treasure is on earth, death is the ultimate threat for it ends everything. For those whose treasure is in heaven, death presents no fear, for it cannot touch that which is most important. Paul, quoting from the prophet Hosea, wrote, ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ (1 Cor. 15:55). We may live with the confidence that not only does God control our death (see Matt. 10:28–31), but that death is only a gateway. The grave for a Christian is the place where he or she puts on new clothes, ‘the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality’ (1 Cor. 15:53). All that can die—will die! But the most important things can not and will not—they will be forever with God.

The key in this section is to, ‘Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given you as well’ (6:33). Once we have settled the issue of whether our real treasure is in heaven (6:20), our vision is good (6:22) and our master is God (6:24) there are really no other key issues to face. Everything else, ‘will be given you as well’.

DO NOT BE ANXIOUS

Matthew 6:25–34

When I was a young man, I watched my father die an inch at a time. He had four serious strokes, which completely incapacitated him. He sat in a chair for the last three years of his life unable to work or to derive any income whatsoever. I can still hear him saying to me, in a thick voice because of the paralysis from the strokes, “Take no thought for tomorrow, what you should eat, what you should drink, what you should put on.” He lived and died by that text, yet I hated it with every fiber of my being. Even today, as a Christian, I have trouble with this text because it is as if Jesus is speaking direct to me, saying, “You say that you believe in the providence of God, and if you believe that, why are you such a worrywart?”

The Futility of Worry

Obviously Jesus here is teaching His people the doctrine of providence. When we speak theologically of the providence of God, we speak of that means by which God governs the entire universe, the means by which in His sovereignty He leaves no maverick molecule running lose outside of His sovereign authority. The word providence comes from the root word pronoeō, which meant originally “to see in advance” or “to see beforehand.” However, providence actually refers to much more than God’s knowledge of the future; it refers to God’s provision for the future, His perfect plan that cannot fail and which includes everyone of us and everything about us, even the hairs on our head. “This is our Father’s world,” as the hymn goes, and there is no one I would rather have governing this world than Almighty God Himself, who does all things well.

Jesus knew that, and He knew it far more profoundly than we do. Jesus understood the practical implications of the sovereignty of God and of God’s divine providence. He has just warned us that we cannot serve two masters and that we ought not to be heaping up treasures on earth but rather looking to heaven and to the kingdom of God, which is why He begins this section with a conclusion: “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?” (v. 25).

One of the things Jesus stresses in this admonition about worry is its futility. All the worry in the world cannot possibly change anything. All we do when we worry is get ourselves upset, and the only changes wrought by our worry are negative changes to our own health. Jesus says it is silly to worry, because worry is futile.

Jesus goes on to tell us that worry is a matter of lacking faith and that worry is not only futile but in a certain sense also foolish. Despite His words, we still worry about things. Sometimes it seems that we just cannot help it. However, worry is one of our greatest incentives to prayer, because prayer is the greatest antidote to worry. When I worry, I am driven immediately to my knees, although I recall Vesta asking me, “Shouldn’t we go to our knees before we worry rather than having worry as the catalyst to drive us to more earnest prayer?”

A Lesson from Wildlife

Jesus asks some rhetorical questions: “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (v. 25). Obviously life is more than food, and the body is much more than clothing. Worrying about the results of a medical test is not the same as worrying about the sale price of our next clothing purchase; we all realize that our human bodies are more important than the things we use to cover them.

Then Jesus tells us to look at nature: “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (v. 26). There are several things in Jesus’ analogy that we ought not miss. We have never seen a bird plowing a field and planting seeds in furrows, then fertilizing that field and weeding it during the growing process so that when food emerges from the earth, the bird can come and take it to a barn that it has constructed for a rainy day. What we have seen is man plowing the ground and sowing the seed, and then the birds coming down and eating the seeds that man has provided for them. Birds are not like people; they do not have to pay attention to growing seasons. As a rule, God just takes care of their needs without their sowing and reaping and storing. Yet, Jesus says, “Your heavenly Father feeds them.”

Critics say of this text that apparently Jesus was not knowledgeable about natural disasters that afflict the earth and kill birds by the thousands. Birds perish during famines or when there is an oil leak on the sea. For these reasons critics deny the rightness of Jesus’ words about birds. However, Jesus was using a common, everyday phenomenon to illustrate a point. He was not giving the doctrine of the providential concern for wildlife. Luther says that Jesus was directing us to nature to allow the birds to be our teachers. John Stott, who was an avid birdwatcher in England, said that this is not Jesus’ doctrine of ornithology. Rather, it is His doctrine of orni-theology. We have a lesson to learn from the normal operations of nature. Jesus was simply saying that when we see birds pulling worms out of the ground and seeds from our garden, we know they are not starving to death.

The other point I want us to notice is that Jesus says it is our heavenly Father who feeds the birds. We used to have a birdfeeder near our driveway, and each day I would pile birdseed on top of the feeder and then try to keep the squirrels away from it. We could look out the window and watch the various species of birds come to that feeder. I fed the birds, but they were not my birds, nor was I their father. My heavenly Father was feeding those birds through my hand in that particular instance. I was able to participate in the providence of God by taking care of those creatures, but we must understand that it is our Father who is taking care of the animals, the birds, and the fish.

Then Jesus asks what is clearly another rhetorical question: “Are you not of more value than they?” (v. 26). When asking a first-century Palestinian a question as obvious as that, there would have been no dispute. “Of course,” they would say. “Yes, we as human beings are more valuable than the birds of the air.” Even the pagans in that environment understood that human life was more valuable than turtle eggs. Today, however, we live in such an upside-down culture that the eggs of turtles are deemed more valuable than the embryos of human beings. That is why, perhaps, some who read this text today would not know what Jesus was talking about. God does not say that we are to value human life and despise animals. To the contrary, He tells us to value the creatures He has put here; but we are to value human life even more. There is a calculus of value assigned to nature by God.

God’s Providence

Jesus again points out the futility and foolishness of our anxiety: “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” (v. 27). The primary inference of this text is probably not with reference to height but to the span of our lives. We worry more about death than about any other reality we face. All our fear responses are inherently related to our fear of death. Jesus is saying that our lives are in the hands of His Father, and, because of that, our anxiety cannot add to the duration of our lives. Our days have been appointed by God. He appointed the day of our birth, and so has He appointed the day of our departure from this world. The problem is that He has not given us that information; we do not know the day of our death, so we worry about it, even though our worry does not change anything.

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (vv. 28–29). As magnificent as the clothing worn by the king may have been, it was not nearly as beautiful as the nuanced shades of color found in wildflowers along the pathway. Jesus did not think that wildflowers evolve; He believed that the regal clothing of the wildflowers is exactly the result of the appointed providence of God. It is our Father who adorns the flowers with the beauty they display.

Jesus comes to His conclusion: “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (v. 30). Jesus points out God’s “how much more” and concludes, “Therefore do not worry” (v. 31). In other words, since Jesus says there is no need to worry, we have no need to worry. That’s the end of the matter.

“For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (v. 32). Our Father knows what we need before we ask Him. That does not mean, of course, that we are not supposed to ask Him. In fact, He not only encourages us to ask Him but also commands it. We do not inform Him of our needs; He already knows them. He asks us to come to Him so that we can put our hearts at rest, knowing that we have spoken to the Father about our concerns. God says in essence, “I know what you need, but come and tell me what it is.” It’s for our benefit, not for His.

The Antidote to Worry

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (v. 33). Jesus gives the alternative to worrying about our lives in what is perhaps the climactic verse of this discourse. It may be the most important verse in the entire Sermon on the Mount. Jesus does not tell us to forget about our concerns but rather to focus our concern and thoughts on His Father’s kingdom. All the things that are added to us will be the consequence of our focusing our desires on His kingdom.

I once offended a family member by making a decision he thought was fiscally irresponsible: I decided to sell all my possessions and go to school. He asked me how I intended to provide for my family, and I quoted to him, “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread” (Ps. 37:25). That is a truism, but it is not a universal absolute. Righteous people do starve from time to time. The principle that David set forth in the psalm was the same as Jesus is saying here. If you seek first the kingdom of God, the rest of what you need will be added to you. You do not need to worry about it.

The force of that mandate is found in the word first. It comes from the Greek word prōtos, which here does not indicate the first in a series chronologically. In other words, Jesus is not saying that we are to seek the kingdom first and clothes second and a house third, and so on. Rather, He is talking about priority. Jesus is saying that the most important thing we can do is to seek His Father’s kingdom and His righteousness. Set your heart on that, and everything else will take care of itself. The number-one priority of the Christian is seeking after the kingdom of God.

I find myself irritated when unbelievers are described as “seekers.” No unbeliever seeks after God. There are millions of unbelievers seeking the benefits that only God can give them, but all the while they are fleeing from God. Worship services should be tailored to believers, not to unbelievers, because seeking the kingdom of God does not start until one has found it through conversion. In our natural condition, as the apostle says, there is none who seeks after God (Rom. 3:11). That is why Jonathan Edwards said that the seeking of the kingdom of God is the main business of the Christian. We do not stop seeking the kingdom the day we are converted; we start seeking it. From the day of our conversion onward, our whole life is to be defined as a quest for the kingdom of God and for His righteousness. That is the priority.

Finally Jesus says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (v. 34). I do worry about tomorrow, and I repent of that. However, I never worry about yesterday, because it is gone. I worry about the consequences for tomorrow of what happened yesterday, but I do not worry about yesterday. Jesus says that we have enough on our plate today without worrying about tomorrow. Jesus is not saying that we do not need to study for an upcoming exam, or prepare a sermon, or budget to buy groceries. We are not to be reckless when it comes to seeking provision for the normal things of life. We are to make preparation but not with anxious hearts.

6:25 do not worry. Means not that we should not think about or plan ahead but that we are not to be anxious.

6:26–27 God provides food and drink for birds, so he will surely provide them for his people. Of course, birds often work hard to find their food, so this is scarcely a call to laziness.

6:28–32 Even wild flowers and grass are beautifully dressed, so God will surely clothe his people much more wonderfully. Unbelievers worry about the basics of life such as food, drink, and clothing.

6:33–34 seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. By definition includes sharing one’s surplus with fellow Christians who lack the basic necessities of life or the ability to acquire them. When God’s people worldwide do this, “all these things” (food, drink, clothing) will be given to them as well. This is not a promise that faithful believers will never starve to death, but there need never be any poor among them (Deut 15:4). Only the disobedience of God’s people makes it inevitable that at least a few poor believers remain (Deut 15:11). Moreover, each day has too many unavoidable worries of its own for us to indulge in worries about the future as well.⁵

1 Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol. 24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

2 McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (Matthew 1-13) (electronic ed., Vol. 34, pp. 96–98). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

3 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 27–28). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

4 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1900). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

5 Carson, D. A. (2015). The Gospels and Acts. In D. A. Carson (Ed.), NIV Zondervan Study Bible: Built on the Truth of Scripture and Centered on the Gospel Message (p. 1942). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.