"The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.
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- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or 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: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.As I read this passage, while simultaneously observing our culture (and myself), a few things jump out at me:
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
- Matthew 6:25-34
First, Jesus was admonishing his listeners to not be "anxious about their life". Notice their worries: What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? These worries were not the same worries most of us have in the 21st century West. When we worry about "what shall we wear", it's because we're having a hard time choosing from all the clothes in the closet. In Jesus time, they were worried about not having any clothes. Ditto for "what shall we eat"; they weren't stressed because they couldn't decide between Mexican and Steak. they were stressed because they were running out of oil and grain, and harvest was still two months away.
For the most part, we have it so much better than they did, materially. And yet I am surrounded by people consumed by their worries. I know people, who have almost everything they could possibly wish for materially, socially, spiritually, and familialy (new word!), who are paralyzed with fear for the future and with uncertainty about the now. I want to tell them "don't worry! Just live!" But then I look at myself; all it takes is just one tear in just one of the multiple safety-nets that I have been blessed with to start me revving the engine of worry in my own life.
For many of us, worry is something that we wrongly think comes at us from the outside. And yet in the Bible anxiety is rightly shown to be something we do, and that we should not do. "Do not be anxious" is a command, much like "rejoice!" is a command. It is in our power to refuse anxiety, and Christ tells us to do so.
And it's only because of Him that we can do so! This universe can be a scary, lonely place, even for well-heeled, modern, 21st century types like many of us. But the Gospel, the Good News proclaimed by Jesus, includes the wonderful reassurance that our Father knows our needs, and He cares for us. No matter what happens in this life (and there are many bad things that can and do happen) He is there, and in His hand is ultimate healing, ultimate sustenance, ultimate protection.
We are not alone.
Jesus calls us to focus our lives on what is really important. Have you ever noticed that worry does a great job of crowding out of your mind the things you need to be focusing on? Like living, for instance. Worry sticks our feet in plaster, befogs our eyes, and stuffs our ears with cotton.
Jesus tells us to throw all that aside, and live, setting our eyes, minds, thoughts, and actions toward the Kingdom of God that Jesus Himself has inaugurated, and toward the righteousness that is the banner of that Kingdom.
". . . and all these things will be added to you."
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Comments on "On Anxiety":
3. Milly
- 01/22/2008 8:49 am CST
I'm worried. I may be facing a divorce. One that will devastate me financially but most of all hurt my children. I needed to hear that I’m not alone.
5. Evan
- 01/22/2008 10:16 am CST
Timely post. I am just reading C.S. Lewis' three volumes of letters, and am currently in the early 1940's. What especially hit me was several letters written to friends in the late 1930's during the lead up to World War II. Lewis is a veteran of WWI, his brother is a reserve officer being recalled, and England's very freedom is treatened by Hitler. And here is part of a letter to Owen Barfield dated 9/12/38:
One thinks one has made some progress towards detachment, some awareness of death, and begins to realise, and to acquiesce in, the rightly precarious hold we have on all our natural loves, interests, and comforts: then when they are really shaken, at the first breath of that wind, it turns out to have been all a sham, a field-day, blank cartridges.
This is how I was thinking that night, about the war danger. I had so often told myself that my friends and books and even brains were not given to me to keep: that I must teach myself at bottom to care for something else more (and also of course to care for them more but in a different way) and I was horrified to find out how cold the idea of really losing them struck. An awful symptom is that part of oneself still regards troubles as 'interruptions' as if (ludicrous idea) the happy bustle of ones personal interest was our real work, instead of the opposite.
I did in the end see (I dare not say 'feel') that since nothing but these forcible shakings will cure us of our worldliness, we have at bottom reason to be thankful for them. We force God to surgical treatment: we won't (mentally) diet.
8. Roy
- 01/22/2008 10:51 pm CST
1. Milly, you don't weep nor pray alone. May God grant grace needed for commitment, communication.
2. Re Mt 6. Just read that chapter during family time after dinner tonight. While the text has always had the word, I cannot recall having focused before on the "therefore" which heads the quoted section.
"No man can serve two masters...hate the one and love the other....You cannot serve God and mammon (money, materials). *Therefore*, I tell you, do not worry...."
9. DLE
- 01/22/2008 11:10 pm CST
Bill,
In many ways, our society has never been more disconnected and isolated. Whereas a person in trouble in the age of Jesus could probably rely on family members for support, most of our families are scattered across the country.
The Lord did not make us to live as islands. As my wife and I get older, we are increasingly struck by the disconnectedness we have with each other. The village square is gone in America and we are poorer for it.
We Christians forget, too, that the Lord works through us. He made the Church to do His will. If we do not do it, He may not. He asked us to take care of the orphan and the widow. While he can rain down manna from heaven if He wishes to, this is not how He intends to work now that the Church exists. If there is failure in meeting needs, we need to bear the responsibility for failing to give out of the coffers the Lord has filled for us.
When the Church is doing its job, it is a glorious thing. But when it is not, there is reason to be wary. When people run away from responsibility, all sorts of terrible things happen. We can't forget this.
10. DLE
- 01/23/2008 10:07 am CST
Oops.
I should note in the post above that the disconnectedness my wife and I feel is not toward each other, but an observation that we Americans are disconnected.
11. Happy
- 01/23/2008 2:53 pm CST
"It was his intent that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose, which He accomplished in Christ Jesus." - that's from somewhere in Ephesisans 3... God had a lot He intended/intends to do in and through the church, and I think you're right - when the church is being the church it's a glorious thing, and the whole world and even the heavens are forced to sit up and take notice and see what God has done...
I'm struck, as I read this, by how important community really is. I mean, the whole Sermon is, in a lot of ways, about the right ways to relate to God and to other people - and there's a reason God cares so much about the things He took time to write about in His book... many reasons, actually, and some of them we may "get" in this lifetime, and some of them we may not. I'm reading Lauren Winner's Mudhouse Sabbath for like the zillionth time, and last night read the chapter she wrote on mourning - and how it takes time, and the importance of community in the grieving process... still turning some of that over in my head and will probably post on it in more detail on my own blog in a day or two, but reading this (which I needed, by the way, so thank you, Bill) and the comments following, it just hit me how even voicing your worry and having people come alongside you can help you remember who God is and His provision for you. Yay, church.
And Milly, I'm sorry. I will pray God's peace and grace into and over your situation. May all be well - I hope that it will.
12. Happy
- 01/23/2008 2:56 pm CST
lol.. I can spell, really. Ephesians - 3:10-11 to be exact. v. 12 is awesome too: "In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence."
Let's do that - for each other - about everything that worries us. And then let it go, in absolute trust that His word is true. All these things... "will be added to you."
14. The Ancient Mariner
- 01/24/2008 3:44 pm CST
I was going to say, Hap--you can translate it, but you can't spell it? :) Seriously, though, great reference.
And Milly, I'll be praying for you too.
15. Charlotte
- 01/26/2008 11:51 am CST
Roy, thanks for the added thought about the "Therefore" -so true.... we can't serve God and serve our own anxieties/worries at the same time... impossible.
Any other thoughts on that connection anyone? I am speaking to the NYC fashion/wealth conscious culture from this passage tomorrow. Would love some up to date examples/illustrations of Mt 6:24-34, and a better post-modern approach to looking at this scripture. Thanks!
Charlotte
16. Bill
- 01/26/2008 11:58 am CST
Charlotte,
I'd be interested in what you come up with on this passage. Someone else might have to help you on the post-modern approach (I'm still trying to figure out what post-modernism is :-) - but please comment back after your talk if you can. Thanks!
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Splendidly, superbly put, Bill. I may have to borrow you for a sermon some time. :) (With attribution, of course.)