Don’t worry. Those two words are the easiest thing to say and the hardest thing to do. We all have worries and concerns. For some of us, they are horizon worries, reminders of possible threats we may encounter down the road. For others, the worries of today are the like an unwanted guest that refuses to leave. So, what did Jesus say about our worries?
In the Sermon on the Mount, what we are calling The Jesus Way, Jesus speaks about worry. The text for today is Matthew 6:25-34. For the sake of space, I’m not including the whole text. This section begins with, “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (CSB) Jesus goes on to relate how God feeds the birds and clothes the wildflowers even though they don’t toil or spin.
There’s a chart called Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The chart identifies five sections or types of needs. Food and clothing are included in the base-level needs required for survival. It should tell us something that Jesus went to that level to redirect our worries. I don’t know about you, but worrying about the need to survive seems like it would be an acceptable thing to care about. But while Jesus points to the base worries, He is also pointing to all the other things that are higher needs. Needs such as safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization (our purpose and meaning).
Jesus doesn’t just say, “Don’t worry.” He also redirects the physical, emotional, and mental energy that worrying requires in a completely different direction. “So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Our real base need is to know, worship, and serve God. Getting that right satisfies every level of Maslow’s Hierarchy.
Instead of worrying, turn to Christ. Instead of replaying all the things that are wrong or could go wrong, talk to Jesus about it. Instead of looking inward at our troubles, seek to extend the Kingdom and ease someone else’s troubles. Jesus doesn’t promise a trouble-free life. In fact, He closes this section by saying, “Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
This doesn’t mean that we don’t take care of today. We still labor, plan, invest, and harvest. But we don’t plant a seed today and worry about the harvest that is many days away. No, we focus on Christ and the task at hand. We do put something away for tomorrow without allowing anxiety about tomorrow to consume us today. But we are to always seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness in our lives.
There is a winnowing fork that helps me sort through the various worries and concerns of life. It is a prayer, often called the Serenity Prayer, written by Reinhold Niebuhr. “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference, living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; taking this world as it is and not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.”
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