This.Is.A.Tough.One - Mattew 6:25-33

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 6:25-34

LANGUAGE

Vs. 25 anxious - take thought of
Vs 33 seek - worship God (good sense) plot against (bad sense)

COMMENT

I know that many people deal with heavy loads of anxiety, some even needing counseling, medication, or both to deal with the effects. So to say, "Just don't do it." seems a bit harsh. How do you stop an emotion? How do soldiers or others with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) just stop being anxious? Outside of a direct intervention from God, I do not think it possible.

So how do I interpret this verse? First, I draw distinctions between emotions and choices. Anxiety is an emotional response. But we have some control over our thoughts, or what we take thought of. A parent hears that their child has been in an accident. They cannot help but worry about the condition of their child. But they can choose to believe that God is in control, and regardless of the outcome, they can trust in Him.

So now, rather than felling guilty because something has caused me to feel anxious, I can recognize the emotion and "take every thought captive" instead of letting those thoughts captivate me. (1 Cor. 10:5) Jesus then gives examples to show this idea. Worried about life? Look at the birds. See how God cares for them and recognize He cares much more for you. Look at the flowers. They don't work or toil, yet their beauty abound. If God cares over the flowers, how much more will be provide for you? What good does your worrying do? Does it add to your life at all? No! I believe Jesus says these things to show us how to respond to anxiety rather than to guilt us because of feeling anxiety.

He wraps it up showing us what is important, and that is to seek God's kingdom and His righteousness first. Go back to the beginning of the sermon. Think of the beatitudes, which I believe are the foundation for each of the subsequent teachings. Being humble, mourning, poor in spirit, meek, pure in heart. These can be summed up in the idea of worship, with worship being the idea that we cannot achieve salvation of any kind on our own, therefore God must be first. God does not command our worship because He needs it, He does it because we need it. Do you want to have all things added to you? Then worship God. No, not necessarily health and wealth, but peace and joy. Don't worry about tomorrow, let tomorrow worry about itself. And that can only happen when we stop trying to control every outcome, and worship the one who can control every outcome.