Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
June 16, 1985
Father's Day
Worry
Matthew 6:25-34, KJV
As a kid I used to read MAD magazine. The main cartoon character was named Alfred E. Newman, the classic airhead. To show how dumb he was his famous motto was "What, me worry?" Alfred E. Newman is probably the only person without a care. As a matter of fact, anxiety is one of the most widespread emotions in the 20th century. Everything moves at double speed and you never know where you'll end up.
Some of the things we worry about are minor. I have to worry about whether my socks match. I also get anxious when I've hit my seventh red light in Coshocton.
The kind of anxiety Jesus is talking about is more serious. In verse 25 he gives the "trinity of cares" -
What am I going to eat?
What am I going to drink?
What am I going to wear?
This isn't about menus or the color of your socks. It's about having enough to eat and clothes on your back. Despite all of our prosperity, millions still worry about the necessities of life. If you have a job you worry about losing it. If you don't lose it, inflation will devour it. Nothing in life is certain and it always seems safest to expect the worst. Whether you worry a lot or a little it can have a drastic effect on your life. The vast majority of illness is either caused or originated by anxiety. The modern badge of success is a raging ulcer. If you don't have an ulcer you're not tying hard enough.
A lot of people suffer from "nerves" but it really has nothing to do with your body's nervous system. It's all due to anxiety. The most prescribed drug of the 1970's was Valium. It temporarily eases anxiety. The drug which has surpassed it in the 80's is Tagament. It helps ulcers. Both of these can ease the symptoms but they don't even begin to provide a cure.
I realize that some of these facts hit a little close to home for some people here. Now, I'll give a personal confession. During a recent analysis that was done on my ministry, I was told that I am a prime candidate for burnout. Burnout is where you get so uptight about your job you cease to function. You protect yourself by seeking isolation from everyone, even those closest to you. It seems like protection but all it really does is increase anxiety. I haven't burned out yet but it's always a possibility. Some of you may be in the same boat.
Jesus Christ forbids worrying. Now that figures, because he forbids just about everything we are inclined to do. But what's interesting is that he gives so much space to it. In the Sermon on the Mount, adultery gets three verses. Murder and love both get five. But worrying gets nine whole verses. Anything that gets this much attention must be studied closely.
Jesus begins in verse 25 by saying,
"Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life."
This is the key to the whole passage and unfortunately the King James version doesn't mean what you may think it means here. "Take no thought" does not mean we should ignore our needs and not plan for anything. It's really an Old English expression for "Do not worry" or "Don't be anxious." This is exactly what the Greek means.
There are two reasons why Jesus is against obsessive worrying. The first is that worrying is incompatible with what it means to be a Christian and the second is that worrying doesn't make a lot of sense even if you're a pagan.
The first one is the most important. Worrying does not go along with true faith. It's not spiritual. In verse 30 Jesus says that those who get bent out of shape over food and clothing are people of "little faith." The reason is that those who worry about their earthly needs are ignoring God. Notice how Jesus puts it in perspective in the end of verse 25,
"Is not the life more than meat (of food), and the body than raiment, (or clothes).
The Bible claims that God has created each of us and he also sustains us. This means he provides us with everything we need for life. Our body is obviously more important than the clothes that cover it and our life is more important than the food that nourishes it. Well, if God takes care of what's really important, why do we doubt him when it comes to the minor things?
If you really believe in God this has to make sense. Verse 27 reinforces it -
"Which of you by worrying can add one cubit unto his stature?"
In other words, no matter how much you worry you can't add a foot to your height. But God does it for all of us between childhood and adult life. This verse can also be translated,
"Which of you by worrying can add an hour to his life?"
The answer is obvious - no one. Worrying not only can't add to your life - it will often shorten it and usually takes away from it.
In verses 26 and 28 Jesus points to nature. Birds don't have John Deere tractors or fertilizer or combines but God sees that they are fed. Flowers are another example. They don't import cloth and send it to a seamstress. They don't have to because God gives them garments that just can't be compared to what we wear. Look at this poppy. . . . it has a lot more beauty than the suit I am wearing. Of course, this is an el-cheapo suit but even an expensive Italian one couldn't compare with the beauty of this flower. If God will do all this for birds and flowers, what can he do for us?
At this point I should talk about some of the misconceptions Christians have come up with. Some believers use these verses to argue you shouldn't have insurance or save money for retirement. They say these things show you lack faith in God. (A deacon in Celeste's home church told me this.) You can also argue that Christians shouldn't have jobs because neither the birds nor the flowers "work."
I don't think I am watering down Jesus' teaching when I say that this is not what he means here. The stress in these verses is not on the un-necessity of work but on the way we shouldn't worry because God takes care of us. God provides for birds and flowers in a rather complex way. It doesn't just "happen." Proverbs 6:6 points to the ant. The NIV says,
"Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider its ways and be wise. It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest."
Jesus himself tells us we should provide for our families, which is the main reason to have insurance. We cannot sit back in our LazyBoy chair, twiddle our thumbs, mutter, "God will provide" and do nothing. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10,
"If anyone will not work, let him not eat."
Martin Luther who lived five hundred years ago had a great statement about this. He wrote:
"God wants nothing to do with the lazy, gluttonous bellies who are neither concerned nor busy; they act as if they just have to sit and wait for God to drop a roasted goose into their mouths."
God wants us to work, he wants us to consider the future but he doesn't want us to worry about it. Always keep God and his love for you in the picture.
All of this has shown that worrying is not spiritual. Neither is it sensible. In verse 34 Jesus mentions today and tomorrow -
"We worry about tomorrow but trouble always hits you today."
Whenever we worry we are upset in the present about something that may happen in the future. It may happen - but it may not.
One of our stranger presidents was Calvin Coolidge. He was strange because he never seemed to worry. When someone asked him why he was so unconcerned about problems he said,
"Life is like standing on a road with ten driver-less cars coming at you. If you wait long enough, nine of them will end up in the ditch before they ever get to you."
That still leaves one car but I'd rather face one than ten.
It's just not sensible to worry. If what you feared doesn't happen you've worried once for nothing. If it does happen you have worried twice instead of once. Anxiety always doubles your trouble.
There's only one thing in life worth worrying about - your relationship with God. In verse 33 he says,
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness."
We should seek God. Specifically we should seek his kingdom and his righteousness. God's kingdom is wherever Jesus is in charge. This can be the Millennium but it can also refer to the rule of Christ in our lives right now. When you accept Christ as your Savior you enter into the kingdom at that moment.
Accepting Jesus establishes your relationship with God. You also have to maintain it, which is where God's righteousness comes in. We should seek to live the way God wants us to live. Don't worry about the failings of the past or the sin you'll probably commit next week. Focus on how you are living right now.
Is your life in agreement with the teachings of Jesus?
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Typed on March 7, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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