“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 than food, and the body more than clothes?
Matthew 6:25 NIV
In putting today's extract in the right context, Jesus had been teaching the disciples about the principles and practices of God's kingdom. He had warned against revenge, taught about love, giving of alms, prayer, fasting and forgiveness, and here he was, warning against trust in riches and anxiety over the things the world considers important. I believe it is clear that today's extract would only make sense in the light of the lessons that Jesus had been teaching before this one.
When the One who knows the heart charges us not to worry about life, He knows what He is talking about. He knows that our hearts can only take on so much extra weight. He knows that we were not build to pile up pressure on ourselves, but to live each day trusting in the One who created us, gave us life and set us up where we are.
He tells us not to worry about what we will eat and drink and what we will put on. The world teaches that the three basic human needs are food, clothing and shelter, yet God is saying I shouldn't worry about them. How does this work? Simple: what you set your heart on becomes your most important pursuit. If all I think about is what to eat, drink or wear, how does God catch my attention to show me what He wants me to do, or what is next on his agenda for my life?
The questions at the end of today's extract are quite instructive. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothes? It takes a man who has seen God at work to know that God is able to provide when it is needed. We define our worth by the things we put on; our net worth is defined by our account balances; our value to society is defined by what we can bring to the table. Unfortunately, from God's perspective, these things hold no value unless and until the holder understands the place of the things s/he holds, and knows that God can place a call on those things at anytime or can command more to flow at anytime. So, it is not really about WHAT you hold, but WHO you know.
There is more to my physical body than what I put in or on it. Jesus would have me focus on the things that are of eternal value. While I pursue sustenance down here, I must not forget that this present earthly life is a preparation for the eternal. I must not be so caught up in daily living that I do not prepare in any way for eternal living. May I not stand before God at the end of this earthly phase and realise that I had pursued the wrong kind of sustenance. His time of favour is here.
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