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“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.“ (Matt 6:28-32 NIV84) [see these verses in their context below]
Did you know there are different kinds of worry? We can worry about what we need for a given day like food and shelter. That’s a worry of concern.
Concerns for having enough to eat and drink, as well as a safe place to live, are justifiable concerns. If a person doesn’t have a personal relationship with God through faith, it would be reasonable to worry about such things. They are the basic needs of life according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
But as considered in the previous devotional, when we worry about the essentials of life, it’s a strong indicator of our lack of trust in the Lord.
The recent coronavirus pandemic set off panic buying in brick and mortar stores and online. I still don’t understand why toilet paper and bottled water were hoarded. That typically happens with a hurricane scare here in Florida.
It’s still hard to find a good supply of toilet paper even two months into our quarantine order! It defies logic. It’s not rational. It’s just fear-based hoarding.
This may be understandable for people who do not believe in God. It even makes sense for people who are religious but don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus as their Lord.
It is, however, not reasonable for citizens of God’s Kingdom to worry about such things. If we are genuine citizens of the Kingdom of God, we are to trust in the Lord rather than worry. For we know worry will displace our trust in the Lord.
Insights to consider
Another kind of worry relates to what we want more than what we need—non-essentials.
It’s interesting to me how worry over wants begins to displace our worry over needs. When needs are taken care of, it seems we still find something to worry about. But it’s more of a distraction than a concern.
This kind of worry seems to grow in proportion to what we already have—our possessions and wealth.
When our basic needs are being met, our thoughts begin to drift towards things we desire or want.
Advertising is directly aimed at just that. Some ads stir up our basic desires from food to clothes even to darker things. Other commercials appeal to our dreams and daydreams—a nicer car, a bigger and better house, or perhaps an exotic vacation.
At this point, our citizenship begins to come into question. Not our national citizenship. When we begin to worry about what we desire or long for or want, we’ve crossed a line of sorts. It’s not a line we can see and this is at the heart of the dilemma.
When we cross this line, we lose sight of who we are in God’s eyes. The priorities of our lives become centered around our self and selfish nature rather than honoring the Lord.
The appetites and desires of our physical life supersede our spiritual life and nature. Humans were originally created in the image of God (Gen 1:26-28) and given the responsibility to care for the world God created (Gen 2:15).
As citizens of God’s Kingdom, we are different than those who are non-believers in God. When we make the things of this world a higher priority than the things of God and His realm—we forgot who we are.
True Faith
Jesus makes a distinction between those who know God as their heavenly Father and those who don’t. A distinction between the citizens of God’s Kingdom and those outside of it.
The word for those who are not citizens of the Kingdom of God is ethnos (anglicized from the Greek). In English Bible versions it’s translated in several ways—gentiles, nations, pagans, heathen, peoples. Within the context of Israel, it stood for those who were non-Jewish, also known as the uncircumcised (Acts 11:1-4).
A simple way to understand this distinction, within the context of these verses in Matthew 6, is those who are spiritually-minded and those who are not. The citizens of God’s Kingdom are spiritually-minded. Those who are not citizens of His kingdom have their minds and priorities focused on the things of this world.
Jesus is reminding God’s people who they are and their importance to the Father. We, believers, are far more important than “the lilies of the field,” yet King Solomon’s rich clothing paled in comparison to the beauty of flowers that only last for a season.
Jesus reminds God’s people—those who personally trust in God—they are more than their physical existence. When we become the people of God, citizens in His kingdom, we are spiritual beings within our physical bodies.
Jesus also reminds believers of our Father’s care and His sovereign awareness of who we are and what our needs are. He already knows what our needs are in this life.
When we make our physical needs and wants more of a priority than our trust relationship with the Lord, we reduce ourselves to the level of those who do not know God—those who don’t trust in their heavenly Father.
Are you a believer or a nonbeliever?
If you’re a believer, why would you worry about either your needs or wants? Your Father in heaven cares for you and will provide for you.
Trust in Him!
Reflection—
When we make the things of this world a higher priority than the things of God and His realm—we forgot who we are. When our physical needs and wants are more of a priority than our relationship with the Lord, we reduce ourselves to the level of those who don’t trust in their heavenly Father.
Prayer Focus—
When you find yourself worrying about anything, especially non-essential things, make a choice to submit these things to the Lord in prayer. This is an act of trust. Remember, our Heavenly Father already knows our needs. He wants us to learn this by trusting in Him in all things.
Devo Scripture Text
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
“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 6:19-34 NIV84)