"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat of what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"
Matthew 5: 25-27 NKJV
How many of us can read through this scripture in Matthew 5 and say to themselves "This is me!" Worry is something none of us are immune to for sure. There was a time in my life when I was sure that I thrived on worrying. Whether it was worrying about finances or other of lifes conflicts, I would often worry myself sick at times. I'm thinking that there was a VERY good reason that Jesus spoke these words in his sermon on the Mount. Modern medical science has long known that when we worry, it cause us much physical harm. I'm sure this was on Christs heart as well as he spoke these words. Worry does no good to anyone. Beyond the physical aspect of the effects of worrying lies the heart of this issue. Do we trust God enough to relinquish that control over our lives? Jesus gives us the example of how God provides for the simple creatures among us. I'm sure this example was not lost on the crowd Jesus spoke to on that day. If God is loving and gracious enough to provide for the smallest of his creation, will he not do the same for us if we let him? I'm really not certain of this point, but I'm sure those birds we see are not worrying about if they will be fed or not. All they know is that there will be food there. Granted, I help a bit with my bird feeder, but even if I didn't God would provide for them. I can't help but think that it's the very same way for us. Despite all that our lives throw our way, God will provide for our basic needs. Notice the wording of that statement, BASIC needs. In fact, Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that our Lord will provide for our food, drink and clothing. How basic can you get? Granted, there was no mention of cars, I phones, I pads or jewelry. No, these were the very basic needs of life that Jesus was refering to. So, instead of worrying over the basic needs of life, Jesus is telling us to trust in God to provide for us. Now, there is a definate difference between a need and a want, and I'm not sure Jesus was refering to our wants in this passage. We can WANT more money, a new car or a better job, but even without these, God will still provide for our basic needs. In fact, what is our motivation for desiring better things? In first Timothy 6 we see a warning on desiring wealth.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6: 10 NKJV
Now, I think it's fair to point out here that the apostle Paul is not saying that money is the root of evil, but the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil. In fact, the last part of this verse refers to those whose love for money has caused them to stray from their faith and encountered many sorrows in the process. Basicly, their love and pursuit of money and financial gain had surpassed their faith and obedience in God. To quote a current popular television commercial, "Don't be like this guy." Although having money is not a bad thing, we should spend our time trusting in God to provide our needs than worrying if he ever will.
~Scott~
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