Introduction
Until you
saw the title to this lesson, what would you have guessed the odds would have
been that I would ever be referencing a song by Bobby McFerrin dedicated to Bob
Marley? Relax, hell hasn’t frozen over! I’m not exactly a musical expert—ok I’m
not even remotely a musical expert—ok I really just like music and that’s as
good as it gets. However, even I know that the song, Don’t Worry, Be Happy, is hardly a musical masterpiece.
Nevertheless, the song, first released in 1988, became an almost instant
sensation. Why? If you haven’t listened to the song, I invite you to do so. If
you have heard the song then you know what I’m talking about when I say it
represents unrivaled music banality. However, there is clearly something about
the song that attracts people to its message. At first, one might think it’s
the imperative to be happy but I don’t think that’s really it. I think it’s something
deeper; something that reaches to the very core of our being. It’s not the
imperative to “Be Happy,” it’s the imperative, “Don’t Worry.”
I know that
in my own life, I can never be truly happy if I am worried about something or
someone. Some people think it is a laudable trait to show concern. However, I’m
not talking about “concern,” I’m talking about worry and there’s a difference.
One is a matter of prudence while the other is a matter of faith. I have been
taught countless times that before you preach a message to anyone, preach it to
yourself first. I have preached this message to myself countless times yet I
always fall back into the same rut of worry and anxiety. So I’m going to preach
it to myself again and this time you can listen in.
People
often confuse fear with worry and although they are very similar, they are also
quite different. Certain fear is natural and healthy like the fear that makes
us get out of the way of an oncoming car; or the fear of wearing something your
wife will disapprove of (if you read my lesson from last week you’ll know that
I don’t suffer from this debilitating fear). However, one of the ramifications
of our fallen state is that we fear when fear is unnecessary. This type of fear
“can get attached to what does not truly threaten us and can become paralyzing
instead of motivating. In some cases fear ceases to be sporadic and becomes
habitual. When this happens, we become worriers.
Worry is a special form of fear. The traditional distinction is that fear is
caused by an external source while worry or anxiety is produced from the
inside. Yet they produce the same physical responses. Worry is fear that has
unpacked its bags and signed a long-term lease. Worry never moves out of its own
accord—it has to be evicted.”[1]
Let’s try a quick experiment: Are you aware that researchers have identified
the gene (slc6af) where worry and anxiety originate. It has been determined
that those who have the short version of this gene are predisposed to worry
more than those with the long version of the gene. I’m really not making that
up! Now, how many of you out there read that and thought: ‘Wow that’s really
interesting?’ How many of you out there read that and began to worry that you
have the short gene? I think it’s interesting now but when I read that the
first time, my first reaction was: ‘Great now I might be even more defective! I
wonder if I should get tested!’ Stupid right? Well this is the battle that
rages in some of our minds about countless things. There are so many possible
explanations for this ranging from physical abnormalities to psychological
maladjustments. However, I want to look at the spiritual component that comes
with worry. Our subject text for this week’s lesson comes from Matthew’s Gospel
where Jesus specifically addresses the topic of worry.
Subject Text
Matthew 6:25-34
25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what
you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more
important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air;
they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father
feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add
a single hour to his life? 28“And
why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do
not labor or spin. 29Yet
I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of
these. 30If that is
how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is
thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What
shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all
these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and
his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of
its own.
Context
We have to
look all the way back to chapter 5 to find the setting for our subject text.
Our subject text is actually part of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount! We
often think that the Sermon on the Mount consists only of the Beatitudes:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, Blessed
are…, etc. But the complete sermon is everything contained in chapters 5-7,
which our subject text is a part of. We often see Jesus teaching in various
places throughout the Gospels. However, the Sermon on the Mount stands out as
the largest singular gathering of people for a formalized teaching event. Generally
speaking, the sermon is broken up into separate teaching segments without any
really connections between teaching points. For example, in 6:1-4 Jesus teaches
about giving to the needy; in 6:5-15 Jesus teaches us the Lord’s Prayer; in
6:16-18 Jesus teaches about fasting and it goes on like this throughout the
sermon. Except, that is, when it comes to our subject text that begins with the
word, “therefore” which means it is connected with whatever came before. That’s
the part that stabs at my conscience every time. Here, let me just summarize my
point by combining the first sentence of our subject text and the first
sentence of the text that immediately precedes our subject text: “Do not store
up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where
thieves break in and steal…Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” Tell the
truth, what were the very first words that entered your mind when you read
that? Look, I’ve read these verses countless times and I have the same reaction
every time: “Yeah but…!” The problem with Jesus’ teaching is that there is no
room for: “Yeah but…!” So the instruction is that we’re not to store up money
and possessions for ourselves and
we’re not supposed to worry about what we’ll eat, drink or wear! Come on! Do
those things go together in your world because they don’t seem to in my world?
But there must be a way to incorporate both of these things into our lives or
Jesus wouldn’t have given us the instruction to do so.
Text Analysis
V. 25 sets
up the imperative for the remaining verses of our subject text. The imperative
is: “Do not worry about your life…”! The imperative is modified with the things
we shouldn’t be worried about; what we will eat, drink or wear. In other words,
we are instructed to not worry about the things we need to stay alive! Jesus
asks the rhetorical question in v. 25b whether life isn’t more important than
food and the body more important than clothing. Jesus’ instruction can be quite
confusing especially in an American culture where what we put in our bodies and
on our bodies often seems to be the most important thing. But the attitude of
our culture is really quite similar to the cultural attitude during Jesus’ day.
“Religion has swung between the extremes of Epicureanism—the body as an end,
and Asceticism—the body as an enemy. Jesus stops the pendulum at exactly the
right place: the kingdom of God is the supreme value among values, the body and
its desires are to be subjected to and become the servant of that kingdom, with
the understanding that the servant, body, is worthy of its wages and that
everything that it needs is guaranteed…The donkey is a good burden-bearer. As a
ruler it would be hopeless. The body is a great servant, but as a ruler it
makes life asinine.”[2]
Let’s make a distinction here between what Jesus is not and what Jesus is
saying: Jesus is not saying that it
doesn’t matter if you have anything to eat or drink or whether you have clothes
to wear. Jesus is saying make sure
the necessities of your life don’t become the obsession of your life. Understanding
Jesus’ imperative not to worry “begins with confession that it is not God’s
will. In fact, anxiety is a subtle insinuation that God is either unable or
disinclined to see to our welfare.”[3]
Yet nothing could be farther from the truth.
Jesus
continues in v. 26 by providing us with an illustration to consider birds and
how they don’t have the means to plant or harvest or store away provisions and
yet they aren’t generally at risk of starving to death because God cares for
them as he cares for all of his creation. Jesus asks another rhetorical and
profound question: “Aren’t you worth more than the birds?” I can’t stress the
importance of understanding v. 26a in the context of a relationship with “your
heavenly Father.” “As Father, God is the God who is near to whom man can turn
in believing trust with all his petitions. Moreover, God is the sustainer of
the creatures he has made. He receives them with fatherly goodness and
surrounds them with his care.”[4]
Jesus drives home his point of v. 26a in v. 26b when he makes the distinction
of value between animals and humans emphasizing that if God cares for the
smallest of birds then why wouldn’t he care for humanity that has infinitely
more value? “Jesus had no maudlin sentimentality, however, about the animal being
on an equality with man…Animals have in common with us desire for food and for
affection, they have some intelligence and seemingly some reason, but they all
apparently lack one thing that all men have—a desire for God. As far as we know
no animal worships; all men worship, someway, somehow. The animal seems to lack
the spiritual nature which makes a man akin to God, that which makes him set up
altars of prayer, which makes him long for fellowship with the Father-Spirit.
Jesus kept his values straight…Human personality is the most precious thing in
the universe. If God takes care of the lesser, will he not take care of you,
the greater?”[5]
In case he
hasn’t made his point clear enough in the previous verse, Jesus continues in v.
27 by asking yet another rhetorical question. In essence, Jesus asks: “How will
worry change anything about which we worry?” Let me just say, I hate this
question! I hate it because it jumps right into the middle of my worry with
both feet of hard reality. Let me illustrate: As I might have mentioned, both
of my girls decided to leave Colorado to go to college. We have been so blessed
and I believe they have been so blessed to be attending a reputable Christian
college with very high moral, ethical and educational standards. The college is
in East Los Angeles county and although it is located in a relatively peaceful
suburban city of LA county, it is, nevertheless, less than 30 miles from
Compton! Compton is famously known for its prominence in drug trafficking,
prostitution and gang violence. Let me just add this if you don’t have a clear
picture of Compton yet: The college where my girls attend regularly sends
students to Compton for missionary service projects! So why am I telling you
this, because I worry about my girls all the time. And do you want to know what
that worry has changed? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! And I know; which is why I
hate this question! “Anxiety will not add even the smallest unit of time to
one’s life. Not only is it true that we cannot extend our life by worrying, but
daily experiences in our comparatively fast-paced culture confirms the wisdom
of an earlier Jewish sage, who observed that worry and a troubled heart
actually shorten life.”[6]
Jesus
continues to illustrate his point as he turns his attention to the beauty of a
field of lilies in v.28. Explaining that if God could cloth a dirt field with
such splendor then how much attention would he pay to clothing humanity? Jesus
ups the ante in v. 29 to illustrate his point that not even Solomon, who was
believed to have been blessed with the greatest wealth of all time and could
provide anything for himself, could not adorn himself in attire more glorious
than a field of lilies. Considering the setting of Jesus’ sermon, specifically
in an open field, Jesus is probably referring to the surrounding wildflowers
and grasses. Jesus is saying: ‘Pay attention to the way these wildflowers
prosper and grow. They do even less for themselves than do the birds of the air
and yet they are so very beautiful.’ Additionally, to prove how much more
valuable humanity is to God, Jesus reminds his listeners that given the beauty
of the fields they see, their value is so fleeting that their beauty is enjoyed
one day while they are pulled up the next and used as fuel for the fire (v.
30). “Grass was then, as even today in the Middle East, common fuel for ovens.
The conclusion to be drawn is readily apparent: since God so wonderfully
‘clothes’ what is so transitory and worthless, how much more true it must be
that God will provide clothing for the disciples, quite apart from any anxiety
on their part.”[7]
Having said
all this, Jesus reiterates in v. 31 his initial imperative saying that his
listeners are not to worry about what they should eat, drink or wear. Because,
Jesus tells them in v. 32, unbelievers [pagans] worry about these things and
besides God in his infinite wisdom and providence already knows you need them.
“Anxiety characterized pagan religions, which were dominated by fears of a
capricious and despotic deity who constantly had to be appeased.”[8]
Jesus then instructs his listeners
in v. 33 that in place of worry, they should first and foremost pursue God’s
kingdom and His righteousness and all else will be provided. “The…reason
against these worldly cares and fears is—because the business of our salvation
ought to engross us entirely; hither all our desires, cares, and inquiries ought
to tend.”[9]
There’s probably one complete lesson in this verse alone but let me try to
summarize what Jesus is and is not saying. Remember that people
followed Jesus for a myriad of reasons; because of his teachings; because they
wanted to make him king to overthrow their Roman oppressors; because of his
healings or because he fed them just to name a few. Jesus wants to make sure
his listeners, and us by extension, have the correct perspective. Jesus is
saying that our focused attention should be the priority of advancing God’s
kingdom and its objectives as well as God’s righteousness for our lives. The
term “kingdom of God” can at times be confusing. The term can have the context
of locality but when Jesus uses the term, he is referring to the reign, rule,
authority and sovereignty that derives from a royal kingdom. Therefore, when
Jesus says that the kingdom of God is “near” or “among you,” he is referring to
himself as one who has authority over God’s kingdom. Furthermore, when Jesus
requires that we pursue God’s righteousness, that righteousness is “not a
matter of actions conforming to a given set of absolute legal standards, but of
behaviour which is in keeping with the two-way relationship with God and man.”[10]
Very simply, Jesus is saying that we are to seek Him and His ways and “all
these things” will be given to us as well. Given the context of this verse
within our subject text the “all these things” must logically be referring to
our necessary provisions. However, history tells us that there must be more to
these words than a quid-pro-quo arrangement where we pursue Jesus in all
aspects of our lives and God will give us what we need. The evidence of
Christians around the world and throughout history who have been and continue
to be deprived of the basic necessities of life should tell us that there is
something more at work in this verse. “One possible solution to this problem is
to reserve all guarantees for the age to come. ‘Will be given’ does not specify
when God will provide. To be sure, the fullness of the kingdom will eradicate
all suffering for God’s people, but it is hard to see why Jesus would rule out
worry in the present age if his promise applies only to a distant future. And
if God’s kingdom has already been inaugurated, then believers should expect to
receive in this age the firstfruits of its material blessings. Hence, v. 33b is
probably to be interpreted in light of Luke 12:33 and Mark 10:30a, which
presuppose the sharing of goods within the Christian community. When God’s
people corporately seek first his priorities, they will by definition take care
of the needy in their fellowships.”[11]
Worry, by nature, deals with the future.
We don’t worry about past events because we already know how those events
affected us. We don’t worry about the present because we are in the process of
living its affects. Instead, we worry about future possibilities yet because we
are finite beings, we have limited knowledge of what is even possible. We can’t
even know for certain if what we’re worrying about will become reality.
Therefore, Jesus says in v. 34, since future struggles cannot be endured in the
present, we should focus on our present circumstances until our future
circumstances become our present circumstances. This applies to all areas of
our lives not just what we will eat, drink or wear. “In these final words
against being anxious, Jesus broadens the exhortation to include anything that
might make people fearful of tomorrow. As the present is fully under God’s
control, so also is the future…The disciple should live in the present, not in
the future (nor for that matter, the past either)…The saying has a proverbial
ring to it. It is placed here to show the stupidity of being anxious about
tomorrow or the future. It provides no warrant for being anxious even about the
present day.”[12]
Application
I have a
painting in my office that I bought for myself 20+ years ago. It is a painting
of Jesus standing on the Sea of Galilee with the waters raging. He has a firm
grasp of Peter’s wrist as Peter is sinking chest deep in the water after
attempting to walk on the water like Jesus. The caption for the painting comes
from Matthew 14:31: “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” I bought it
because it represents my life perfectly most of the time. I have the faith to
get out of the boat and onto the water most days but it takes hardly a strong
wave to cause me to sink and I wind up crying out to Jesus to save me. He does,
of course, but I also hear those words again and again—“You of little faith,
why did you doubt?” So what, you might be asking, does that have to do with
this lesson? Did you by chance notice that I left something out in my text analysis
above? You can find it at the end of v. 30. Do you see it? I made no mention of
the short phrase: “O you of little faith!” There it is again! But what does
walking on water have in common with our concerns for the future? Both require
faith that God will give us what we need to do one and survive the other. “Worry
is the interest we pay on tomorrow’s troubles. Worry is distrust, and distrust
is sin, so worry is sin against the loving care of the Father.”[13]
Ouch! That hurts even as I know it’s true. I can hear some of you screaming at
me right now saying, “Yeah but you don’t know the future I’m facing!” At the
same time I know some of you are crying out in pain saying, “Yeah but you don’t
know how badly I’ve been hurt and what if tomorrow is even worse?” You know
what? You’re right. But I know me and my life so for those of you who don’t
know or for those of you who have forgotten, let me explain.
I grew up
with an abusive alcoholic father. He was both physically and emotionally
abusive. He was an alcoholic for about 40 years of my life. He always drank but
he wasn’t always abusive (a good day) which, oddly enough, made things worse
because you never knew when the volcano would erupt. Whether being called a
“worthless, dumb jackass” (a bad day) or being punched in the face (a really bad
day), the effects were the same although not always visible. One of the
consequences of living in that dysfunctional environment was the constant fear/worry/anxiety
if tomorrow would be a good day, a bad day, or a really bad day. Over time,
worry was just part of my daily way of life—it became habitual. No, I don’t
know your specific life circumstance so I won’t pretend to tell you that all
you have to do is just not worry. For some of us, that would be like telling a
dog not to be a dog. Like many things that are repeated long enough, they
become hard-wired into our being. However, repeated practice over a long period
of time is precisely the way out as well. Think about it, would Jesus tell us
to do something he knew we couldn’t do? No! Would he tell us to do something he
knew would be hard for us to do or take a long time? Absolutely! Remember the
quote from Ortberg in the introduction? In part it read, “Worry is fear that
has unpacked its bags and signed a long-term lease. Worry never moves out of
its own accord—it has to be evicted.” In other words, worry won’t just go away
by itself. Eliminating worry from our lives requires focused intentionality.
You may not have realized it but part of the answer is found earlier in chapter
6; it is the Lord’s Prayer. Therein Jesus instructs that we are to pray for the
coming of the Kingdom, for God’s will to be done and for God to provide for us
our daily bread. Prayer is a key element in overcoming our problem with worry.
Another very important aspect to
overcoming our sense of worry is to make sure we have a clear and sober
understanding of not only who God says he is but who he has revealed himself to
be in and through the person of Jesus Christ. Here we must rely on the power of
the Holy Spirit who lives in us and guides us into all truth to show us and
teach us about a God who will stop and nothing to care for us. And the truth
is, God is able to care for us in all the “ways” necessary to accomplish his
will to advance His kingdom and provide for us His righteousness even if those
“ways” look different than the how we think they should look.
Finally, a significant part of our
issues with worry come from our expectations. Herein lies the problem with
McFerrin’s song, Don’t Worry, Be Happy.
Not the “Don’t Worry” part but the “Be Happy” part. For some reason, we seem to
think that we are in some way entitled to be happy. I can’t find happiness as a
biblical mandate or entitlement anywhere in scripture. Does that mean we can’t
be happy? No. But it does mean that if happiness is our chief objective then we
are inviting worry into our lives as we worry about anything and everything
that could affect our happiness. Dr. Larry Crabb writes speaking for God, “You
reduce Me to a God who is supposed to submit to your understanding of what
matters most. You do not discern the lethal self-interest behind the purposes
for which you seek divine approval. You are wrong to demand My cooperation with
your understanding of life. Because I love you and because My plans for you are
good, I demand your cooperation with Mine. There is no other way to enjoy My
Presence.”[14]
When we relinquish the belief that we are entitled to be happy then we can
begin to let go of the need to worry that the events of our lives might in some
way lead to unhappiness. Come to think of it, in an odd twist, McFerrin may
have, in fact, struck on an important, even divine, message. Perhaps true and
lasting happiness and worry are not always mutually exclusive. Maybe McFerrin
was right after all when he sang—Don’t
Worry, Be Happy!
[1]
John Ortberg, If You Want To Walk On
Water, You’ve Got To Get Out Of The Boat, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House, 2001), p. 123.
[2]
E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the
Mount: A Living Exposition of Jesus’ Words as the Only Practical Way of Life,
(Nashville, TN: Festival Books, 1958), pp. 231-232.
[3]
Walter A. Elwell, ed., Baker Theological
Dictionary of the Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996), p. 28.
[4]
Colin Brown, ed., New International
Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 2, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1986), p. 76.
[5]
Jones, The Christ of the Mount, pp.
234-235.
[6]
Craig S. Keener, The IVP New Testament
Commentary Series, Matthew, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997),
p. 155.
[7]
Donald A. Hagner, Word Biblical Commentary,
Matthew 1-13, (Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1993), p. 165.
[8]
Craig L. Blomberg, The New American
Commentary, Matthew, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1992), p. 126.
[9]
Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on
the Holy Bible, (Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press, 1967), p. 780.
[10]
Brown, DONTT, Vol. 3, p. 355.
[11]
Blomberg, Matthew, p. 126.
[12]
Hagner, Matthew 1-13, p. 166.
[13]
Jones, Christ of the Mount, p. 235.
[14]
Larry Crabb, 66 Love Letters: A conversation
with God that invites you into His story, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson,
2009), p. 159.
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