8 reasons in support of a worry-free life.
1. Worry is Needless, 25
2. Worry is Senseless, 26
3. Worry is Useless, 27
4. Worry is Faithless, 28-30
5. Worry is Godless, 31-32a
6. Worry is Pointless or Fatherless, 32
7. Worry is Restless, 34
8. To Be Worry-free is Priceless , 33
Master Card Commercial: The guy is trying to kiss his girlfriend good bye at the door telling her that her dad wont see it and no one will know, when her sister opens the door and says, “kiss him or I will or dad will but take your arm off the intercom button.”—That’s “priceless”
What we value determines how we live. If we have double vision—if we look intently on earth and try also to look at heaven—we will stumble and fall flat on our faces.
We need to value the eternal.
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow” (34).
Verb means, don’t give anxious thought.”
Jesus is not warning against forethought but against foreboding.
It doesn’t mean “don’t work.” Jesus used birds as an example. Every self respecting bird works hard for food and shelter. But it doesn’t worry. God is not against working; He is against worrying.
8 reasons in support of a worry-free life:
1. Worry is Needless, 25
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Life is more important than food and clothing. If God did the greater thing—gave us life and created our bodies—surely he will do the lesser thing—give us food to sustain us and clothes to keep us warm.
If He has done the big thing we can expect Him to do the little thing.
Example: If a jeweler gave you an expensive diamond ring as a gift, would you not expect him to give you a box to put it in? Jesus asked is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Advertisers give a message that we are what we wear and what we eat.
2. Worry is Senseless, 26
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? (Don’t ask the environmentalist extremists this).
“Are ye not much better than they?”
We spend thousands of dollars to research the effect our projects might have on spotted owls.
A guy is caught by a ranger eating a bald eagle and is consequently arrested for the crime. On the day of his trial, the conversation went something like this:
JUDGE: “Do you know that eating a bald eagle is a federal offense?”
MAN: “Yes I did. But if you let me argue my case, I’ll explain what happened.”
JUDGE: “Proceed.”
MAN: “I got lost in the woods. I hadn’t had anything to eat for two weeks. I was so hungry. Next thing I see is a Bald Eagle swooping down at the lake for some fish. I knew that if I followed the Eagle I could maybe steal the fish. Unfortunately, in the process of taking the fish I killed the Eagle. I figured that since I killed the Eagle I might as well eat it since it would be more disgraceful to let it rot on the ground.”
JUDGE: “The court will take a recess while we analyze your testimony.”
15 minutes goes by and the judge returns.
JUDGE: “Due to the extreme circumstance you were under and because you didn’t intend to kill the Eagle, the court will dismiss the charges. But if you don’t mind the court asking, what does a Bald Eagle taste like?”
MAN: “Well your honor, it is hard to explain. The best I can describe it is maybe a combination between a California Condor and a Spotted Owl.”
Robins work, they have to feed chicks 100 times a day, but they don’t worry, they sing.
Jesus is saying, be like birds who don’t worry. Their creator takes care of them and yours will take care of you.
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
He is not suggesting that we stop sowing, reaping, and storing. God is not against farming. He was simply reminding us how much better off we are than the birds. They can’t sow, reap, or store, yet they don’t worry. Why then he asked rhetorically, should we who have these abilities spoil our lives with worry?
If God as creator and sustainer has set in order the process to feed the birds, surely He has made provision to feed us as well.
Joe used to worry all of the time about everything. His friends all knew him as a worrier. One day Bill was walking down the street when he saw his worrying friend bouncing along as happy as a man could be. Joe was actually whistling and humming and wearing a huge smile; he looked as if he did not have a care in the world. Bill could hardly believe his eyes; it was obvious that a radical transformation had taken place. Bill had known Joe from way back as an inveterate worrier, so he had to find out what had happened.
He stopped Joe and asked, “Joe, what’s happened to you? You don’t seem worried any more; I never saw a happier man.” Joe replied, “It’s wonderful Bill, I haven’t worried for several weeks now.” Bill continued, “That’s great; how did you manage it? What brought about the change?” Joe explained, “You see, I hired a man to do all of my worrying for me.” “You hired a man to do all of your worrying for you?” “Right,” Joe assured him. “Well,” Bill mused, “I must say that is a new wrinkle. Tell me, how much does he charge you?” “A thousand dollars a week.” “A thousand dollars a week? How could you possibly raise a thousand dollars a week to pay him?” Joe answered, “That’s his worry.”
3. Worry is Useless
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
“Worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere.”
A wedding I attended as a teen. They jacked up the grooms classic Mustang. When he stepped on the gas the tires spun but the car didn’t move.
4. Worry is Faithless, 28-30
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
The flowers Jesus spoke about were ordinary field flowers, red poppies or anemones that still grow in Palestine. They are like wild grass. As a fuel for baking bread a housewife would gather this grass, cut it, let it dry, put it in the oven, and then light it. It would make a hot fire for an instant or two, just long enough to heat the oven. She would then remove the burned grass and put her loaves into the heated oven until they were baked. Although the grass was good for nothing but making fire, God dressed it in great beauty—more splendid than one of Solomon’s robes, Solomon dressed himself, but God dressed the flowers.
Jesus not only compared grass to Solomon’s finest attire but also to people.
Grass is passing, but people are permanent. We will live someplace forever. And if we belong to God, we are not only permanent, we are of special value to Him. So the contrast is great.
If God clothes the passing flowers in great glory, surely He will give us who are permanent an ordinary wardrobe.
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
When Jesus said we have little faith, I think He meant that worry shows our faith to be insufficient and thoughtless. Some people have sufficient faith to believe God will get them to heaven but not enough to believe He will get them through the next twenty-four hours. They are absolutely confident of the sweet by-and-by but terrified by the nasty now-and now. Others thoughtlessly focus on everyday events but forget the ultimate issues of life.
5. Worry is Godless, 31-32a
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)
Worry shows that we are little more than pagans. The Jews considered the Gentiles pagans because they believed in lesser gods or in no gods at all. The mythical gods of the Greeks and Romans were insufficient gods that lied, cheated, got angry, murdered, and were actually less than human. To the Jews, those gods were the opposite of the God of righteousness.
Worrying was natural for the Gentiles because they couldn’t trust their gods. Our worry testifies that God cannot be trusted, that the God we worship is no different from the gods of pagans. This is a form of atheism and an affront to God.
The absence of worry ought to distinguish people who live for what is eternal. We are people who trust in God, and that should make a difference in the way we handle life.
And by worrying we actually are calling God a liar. We are saying to God, I know you can keep the sun in orbit. I know that you can sustain all life on earth. I know that you can answer prayers all over the world at once. I know that you have always been in control in the past...but I don’t believe you can take care of the problem I’m going through now.
God said in Prov.3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
And worry says I don’t believe He can do it.
6. Worry is Fatherless
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
The robin to the sparrow, I would really like to know, Why those anxious human beings, rush and worry so.
Said the sparrow to the Robin, I think it must be, They have no heavenly father like the one that cares for you and me
7. Worry is Restless, 34
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
There was once a very small fellow who applied for a job as a woodsman out in the Pacific Northwest. He approached the boss (who was a big strapping brute) while he was chatting with a half dozen others of the same sort. The little man said, “I want a job cutting wood.” They all began to laugh. “You’re too small for this work.” the boss replied. But one of the men said, “At least give him a chance to show you what he can do” (it looked like an opportunity to have some fun). The boss, catching on quickly said, “Okay, come over here.” He selected one of the largest, hardest trees he could find. He said, “Let’s see what you can do with this.” Big bruisers gathered all around. They began to whisper, “I couldn’t chop that one down in a day!” Another: “Yeah, his axe’ll bounce off and hit him in the head.” He lifted his axe and, swish-whoofff! Down it came with one clean stroke. The big fellows looked from the tree to the little man in disbelief.
“What’s wrong with that tree? Do that again.” They took him over to harder one and a bigger one. Swish-whoofff! Down it came in the same way. “Well,” said the boss, “you’re hired, but first tell me one thing.
Where did you ever learn to cut wood like that?” The little fellow replied, “In the Sahara Forest.” “The Sahara Forest? You mean the Sahara Desert, don’t you?: The little fellow answered: “That’s what they call it now.” That’s just the point, isn’t it; One tree here, two trees there, one tree here, three trees there; that is Christ’ way. Day by day faithfully working for Jesus Christ will soon change the name of the game. That is the answer to worry according to God’s Word.
Your shoulders and mine are only large enough to carry one day’s problems at a time.
“What if” are worries favorite words.
I came across an interesting article some time back. It was a long-term study of nearly 4000 men. And they found that of the 4000 in the study 38 had died of sudden heart attacks on Monday while only 15 died on Friday. For men with no history of heart disease, Monday was particularly dangerous.
And I think there’s a very real lesson here. Why is Monday so bad, because were worrying about all the stuff piled up in the four days ahead. We’re borrowing tomorrow’s troubles. And by the time Friday gets here, we realize all those things weren’t so important after all and we begin to relax. The bible says don’t worry about tomorrow because you can’t control it.
Ed Keats from Danville, VA, had cancer, he immediately went to see him. Keats said, “I just found out I have cancer. The Dr. broke the news as gently as possible and told me I had but 2 days to live. I said to him, ‘That’s the best news I’ve had in a long time.’ Started, the Dr. asked, “What do you mean?” Keats replied, ‘Over the years I’ve learned to trust God for just one day at a time, and now you are giving me 2 days. I’d call that good news.’”
Paul to learned to live without anxious care (Phil. 4:6, 7, 11, 12). We must learn to put our lives completely in God’s hands and be concerned about only one thing — learning and doing His will.
8.To be worry free is Priceless, 33
“there are some things that money can’t buy and for everything else there is Master Care”
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Priorities
Clovis Chappell, a minister from a century back, used to tell the story of two paddle boats. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snails pace of the other.
Words were exchanged. Challenges were made. And the race began. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the Deep South.
One boat began falling behind. Not enough fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of the ship’s cargo and tossed it into the ovens. When the sailors saw that the supplies burned as well as the coal, they fueled their boat with the material they had been assigned to transport. They ended up winning the race, but burned their cargo.
—In the Eye of the Storm by Max Lucado, Word Publishing, 1991, pp. 97-98
