Matthew 6:25-34

• We are called to not worry
• We are called to look different
• We are called to seek God first

We are called to not worry (v. 25-31)

Think for a moment of all the things in life that we worry about. Money, relationships, work, appearance, acceptance, and family. These are common worries that we have, and so did the group of followers that were listening to Jesus in Matthew 6.

Jesus boldly tells them to stop their worrying (easier said than done). But Jesus didn’t just tell them to stop but told them why they ought to stop. He compared their worrying to flowers and birds (v. 26-30). He is driving home the point that God created all of nature. From the stars above (Psalm 147:4) to the grass below. Yet man is made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). We are more precious to God than nature, yet God tenderly takes care of nature. Why do we think God would not take care of our needs?

Luke 11:11 talk about how we as sinful parents will give good gifts to our children, and we do. I will get up in the middle of the night to take care of insignificant problems my two boys have because I love them. So why do we not believe that the perfect Father will not take care of our insignificant and significant needs? Of course He will!

We are called to look different (v. 32)

Jesus then says the pagans worry about stuff. I don’t think he just threw that in there for the fun of it. Jesus draws our attention to how the unsaved live because as followers of Christ we ought to look different. Matthew 5:43-48 talk about how we ought to love our enemies because that is the opposite of what the world does. We as Christians are called to be weird, loving, self-sacrificing, patient, kind. We are called to be different. We are the aroma of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15).

We are called to seek God first (v. 33-34)

Some of you may be thinking that you already know you shouldn’t worry, but you don’t know how to stop. Jesus then tells us what our cure for anxiety is. We ought to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. In short, I believe that simply means putting the things of God first in your life. Being heavenly minded and storing your treasures in heaven rather than on earth (Matthew 6:19-20). 1 Timothy 4:8 talks about keeping your eyes on the prize, Hebrews 11 is story after story of men and women who kept their eyes on the kingdom rather than on earthly things.

So what?

Remember it is counter-cultural to think this way. The culture we live in tells us to be completely self-dependent. The Bible tells us to be independently (not dependent on other humans) dependent on God. If we depend completely on ourselves, of course we will worry! But as Christians, we do not need to worry. We can practically seek the kingdom and God’s righteousness by giving God our time. Spend time with Him in prayer and in the Bible. We can also start to look at people as souls rather than individuals. When we look at people, we should be asking if they are on their way to heaven or hell. I believe that to be thinking of the kingdom. Remember, we are called to be weird.