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God and Possessions
Matthew 6.25-34
Good News Translation (GNT)
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25 "This is why I tell you: do not be worried
about the food and drink you need in order to
stay alive, or about clothes for your body.
After all, isn't life worth more than food?
And isn't the body worth more than clothes?
26 Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds,
gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your
Father in heaven takes care of them!
Aren't you worth much more than birds?
27 Can any of you live a bit longer [c] by worrying
about it?
28 And why worry about clothes? Look how the
wild flowers grow: they do not work or make
clothes for themselves.
29 But I tell you that not even King Solomon with
all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one
of these flowers.
30 It is God who clothes the wild grass - grass
that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned
up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure
to clothe you? What little faith you have!
31 "So do not start worrying: 'Where will my food
come from? or my drink? or my clothes?'
32 (These are the things the pagans are always
concerned about.) Your Father in heaven
knows that you need all these things.
33 Instead, be concerned above everything else
with the Kingdom of God and with what he
requires of you, and he will provide you with
all these other things.
34 So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have
enough worries of its own. There is no need to
add to the troubles each day brings.
Footnotes
Matthew 6:27 live a bit longer;
or grow a bit taller.
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Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)
Do Not Worry
Matthew 6:25-34
Therefore ... do not worry about your life.
It does not mean that we can stop working and expect God to feed us.
God feeds the birds, but they have to look for their food.
God will feed men too, but men must plant and plough and water.
If a man doesn't work, he won't eat.
Jesus teaches here only that we must not worry.
If God can give big gifts like life, He will certainly give the small gifts too.
God doesn't promise to give us more than we need,
but we can rely on Him to provide our necessities.
The same is true for birds. God gave them bodies.
And if He provides food for birds, will He not provide food for us,
who are more valuable than birds?
By worrying we cannot add a single hour to our life,
or a "single cubit to our height."
In place of the words a single hour to his life, some versions of the Bible say,
"a single cubit to his height."
The Greek text of this verse can be translated either way.
However, it fits better with the context to say, add a single hour to his life.
People worry more about the length of their life than they do about their height.
Jesus' meaning is that worry accomplishes nothing.
Just as God feeds the birds, so He clothes the flowers. If He clothes the flowers,
who are not His children, surely He will clothe us who are His children.
Even King Solomon, David's son, the richest king of the Jews,
was never dressed as beautifully as a lily.
Then Jesus said: "... Won't he (God) be all the more sure to clothe you?,
O you of little faith?".
Worry is a sign of little faith. He was talking mainly to His disciples, to believers.
Many believers have a little faith. They have enough faith, in Jesus, to be saved,
but they do not have enough faith to stop worrying,
and they don't believe everything He says.
Jesus said, "God will give you food and clothing."
Do we believe it?
He said, "Come to me ... and I will give you rest".
Do we believe it?
He said, "... whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst".
Do we believe it?
Do we have this kind of living water in us?
We need to confess that we are men of little faith.
"Little faith" has another meaning, too.
It means to be discouraged by our circumstances.
Our circumstances can weaken and even destroy our faith.
No matter what our circumstances are, we need to continue hoping,
rejoicing, believing, because all of our circumstances are in God's control.
And God is our loving Father.
He will not let anything happen to us, that is not for our good
(see Romans 8:28). Therefore, why should we worry?
If we truly believe in a loving God, we will not worry.
But even Jesus' disciples, in the beginning, had but little faith.
Every Christian needs to grow in faith. It is a process that lasts our entire life.
Jesus said: "Do not worry about food and drink and clothes.
For the pagans run after all these things".
Here in this context, the word "pagan" means not only Gentiles, or non-Jews,
but also all those who do not believe in 'the one true God.'
In Jesus' time, only Jews and those Gentiles, who followed the Jewish religion,
believed in the one true God.
God is not a loving Father for unbelievers.
They do not rely on God. Therefore, they worry about food and clothing.
They seek these things first, instead of God.
Many believers, however, are just like unbelieving "pagans."
They, too, worry about food, clothes, and other necessities.
They worry about the future. They think mostly about worldly things.
Such Christians indeed have little faith.
How can we increase our faith?
First, we must remember who we are. We are God's children.
God always does what is best for His children.
Second, we must remember who God is.
God is our Father, and His love, His power, and His wisdom are without limit.
Not a sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing it.
He knows the number of hairs on our heads. If He knows that,
He surely knows all our needs.
Jesus said, "Do not be like unbelievers, who seek only the things of this world.
Put your confidence in God.
"... seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well."
In Hebrews 11:6, it is written:
... without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him
must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
God Himself said through the prophet Jeremiah:
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart"
(Jeremiah 29:13).
How earnestly do we seek God?
Do we seek Him above all else?
Do we think about our treasure in heaven?
Paul wrote: Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.
We must seek not only God's kingdom, but also His righteousness, that is,
we must seek to be like Jesus.
We must hunger and thirst for righteousness.
As we do this, our faith will grow.
To increase our faith we must come close to God, pray to Him,
read His word.
James wrote: Come near to God and He will come near to you
(James 4:8).
God is ready to give us everything we need, if we believe and draw near to Him.
He says, "Seek me first, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Not only that, God has given us His kingdom.
Jesus said to His disciples: "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father
has been pleased to give you the kingdom". When we seek God first,
He gives us food, drink, clothes;
He gives us His righteousness;
He gives us every spiritual blessing 'in Christ'.
And finally, He gives us His kingdom!
Jesus said: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance,
the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world".
Friends, let us not lose so great a blessing!
Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow.
God has promised to supply everything we need, if we seek Him first.
Paul wrote: And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches
'in Christ Jesus.'
Here Jesus teaches that we must live one day at a time.
We must not worry about the mistakes of yesterday; they are passed.
We must not worry about tomorrow; it hasn't come yet.
Tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.
We must obey God today; we must walk with God today; we must trust Him today.
Jesus prayed: "Give us today our daily bread".
We don't need to pray for tomorrow's bread.
God gives us what we need day by day.
Let us understand Jesus.
Yes, we must think about tomorrow. We must plan. We must plant today,
so that we can harvest tomorrow. But we must not worry about tomorrow.
Worry is from the devil.
It is one of his weapons. By means of worry Satan tries to weaken and
destroy our faith.
How can we overcome worry, then?
By resisting Satan.
James wrote: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
We must continually tell the devil: "Away from me, Satan!".
Together with resisting the devil, we must put our confidence in God.
Peter wrote:
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Let us believe this verse.
Let us apply our faith, and our worry will end.
God never fails to fulfill His promises.
David wrote:
I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous
forsaken or their children begging bread
(Psalm 37:25).
Trust in the love and faithfulness of God.
Love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Seek Him above all else, and all these things will be given to you as well.
The incalculable riches of God are ours 'in Christ',
not only in this life, but for all eternity
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