Our scripture reference includes the following verses:
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 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? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 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. (Mat 6:25-34)
The definition of worry
In the dictionary we find the following definition:
“giving way to anxiety or unease; allow one’s mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles” (courtesy Bing dictionary)
In our scripture reference, Jesus defines worry as “taking thought.” The idea is that we have some sort of problem and we sit around thinking about how to resolve it. In the end, our thinking becomes worry.
Why do we worry?
As we go through life, we tend to accumulate things such as cars, homes, jobs, money, and most important of all, a family. With each of these comes a unique set of problems that will eventually lead to worry. Anyone who says they have no worry is either a liar or possesses nothing. This is why we must be careful to have things and not let things have us.
The preacher tells us in his sermon each Sunday to not worry because God is in control. Jesus told us plainly not to worry or “take no thought for your life.” His reasoning was that worry changes nothing, and this is correct. He stated it like this:
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? (Matthew 6:27 KJV)
In other words, which of you by worrying can make your life better? The answer is no one.
Is all worry wrong? The answer is no. Would you eat a bucket of greasy fried chicken each night? I certainly would not because I worry about my cholesterol. In this case worry is good because it keeps me healthy.
What can we do about worry?
Many times worry is cause by a lack of faith. Jesus tells us in these passages how the father takes care of his possessions including us. Therefore, he tells us not to worry about basic necessities because the father knows we need those things and will supply. The Gentiles (or heathen) seek after these things because they have no relationship with God and therefore, their faith is poor. Low levels of faith mean high levels of worry. If you want less worry, then have more faith.
Not all worry can be eliminated however. God is well able to take care of us, but remember we live in a fallen world filled with fallen people. This means life will always have unforeseen circumstances which we cannot control. Because of this, we will always have some level of worry in our lives.
Summary
No matter what path we choose, worry will always exist in our lives. Jesus here was not telling us that worry was a sin, and we are sinners because we do. He was merely telling us that worry is a part of life, and most of it results from a lack of faith. If we continue to walk and trust in him, slowly but surely worries can be eliminated. It requires faith, patience, and maturity. Are you up to the challenge?
Next section: The Baptism in the Holy Ghost
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