Matthew 6:25-33
“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.”
This passage is about trusting. He breaks it down into two areas, having enough to live on and being able to be presentable. That is will we be able to have clothing that makes us presentable. As opposed to being mocked for our poverty or out of date fashion. This reminds me of the famine Irish as they walked of the ships. Their attire was from a generation ago. They were laughed at. Newspapers would draw cartoons of them as being silly. They felt a great need to fit it. They clung to their own as they were in the same situation. They lived in neighborhoods with other Irish. As the years went by they began to earn descent wages, so the need to stay together evaporated and they moved into and mixed with the general population.
The bible teaches us to work and to trust. Today’s focus is trust. But let’s spend a little time on work. Not long after creation the Lord gave Adam the task of working. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it”, (Genesis 2:15). Work was his and our major purpose. Solomon says we are to find joy in our work. Ecclesiastes 5:18 says, “Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.”
I have to agree with Solomon. I love my work. It does fill me with purpose. I know what it’s like to be bored. It doesn’t feel right. God in His wisdom and goodness has given me a great job.
While work is important, trusting is as well. Even though we are paid for our labor, we shouldn’t rely on our finances, but God. Even though we may have means, we still can have anxiety. That’s what Jesus is addressing. Where is our trust?
He isn’t saying we shouldn’t work. We’ve addressed that it’s a big purpose. The bible goes as far as saying, ‘For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat”’, (2 Thessalonians 3:10). It’s trusting.
Jesus shares in Luke 12:18 about how the rich, even though they have plenty of means some put their trust in their riches, “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods.'” It’s as if he doesn’t have enough. He’s drunk with the over abundance. He is missing the point about trusting in God.
In our work we should be trusting the Lord. Yes we are earning a wage, but we aren’t to trust in it. We are to trust that He will provide for us. Yes, our work is to do that, but as we see with the rich man, he is going to pass that night. We are to trust Him for our salvation and our provision. It’s a great mix of working and trusting.
We may be anxious about our appearance. Will we have enough to be presentable. The bible does teach on contentment. We should be content with our appearance and our attire. It’s ok to want to look good, but it is to be only a percentage of our concern. I Peter 3:3,4 says, “Your adornment must not be merely the external—braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on apparel; but it should be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” We should be more interested in appearance and our character.
Jesus address our appearance in today’s passage. Verses 28 and 29 say, “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.” We are to be content by the way God made us and to attempt to look good, but stop there. Don’t obsess over it. Be more concerned about our character and trust that our appearance is suitable.
Jesus doesn’t want our focus to be on worry. He says in verse 32a, “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things.” He wants us to be different. He gives us the challenge in verse 33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.” That’s living on a higher plane. Don’t worry about the base things. Put our effort and thought into seeking His kingdom.
All of these words are part of the sermon on the mount. He introduces many radical things. Love your neighbor, don’t hate anyone in your heart, don’t seek to be first. Today’s emphasis is more of that. Seek His kingdom. That’s an attitude of the heart. We do it during work and leisure. We trust, we serve others and forgive at all times. That’s His message.
There is a song entitled Simple Kingdom. There are many great truths in there. Here is a stanza that has some of Jesus’ sermon, “Your Kingdom is backwards, it flows in reverse. What You call a treasure this world calls a curse. The small become great and the last become first. Your Kingdom is backwards, Lord, teach us to serve. As it is with Your Kingdom, let it be with Your church.” Love it.
We don’t have to play the mind games that the world does. Trust Him in all. Work hard, look our best, do our best, but put no worry into that. Let it be in His kingdom. The world says we have to be first, best and loved. Not so with us. We are to serve God and others. He will give us a content heart. He may even give us recognition. It’ll fade. Don’t grasp that. Seek to please Him and serve others.
This is a great mind shift. I am so happy that I don’t need to compete with the world. I do what I need to do and love others as I go. He will provide food, clothing and meaning. David said, “My cup runneth over.” I agree. He has so blessed us.
Thank You, Lord. Your words are not the worlds. Yours are full of joy. Your ways truly satisfy. Thank You, Lord.