Posted on 08/29/2015 2:00:00 PM PDT by metmom
“‘Do not be anxious then, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “With what shall we clothe ourselves?” For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things’” (Matthew 6:31-32).
To worry is to be like an unbeliever.
For us as believers, worry is needless because of God’s bounty, senseless because of God’s promise to provide, useless because of our inability to do anything, and faithless because by doing so we put ourselves in the same category as an unbeliever. In Matthew 6:32 the Greek term translated “Gentiles” can also be translated “pagans” or “heathen” and speaks of people without God and Christ. The Gentiles are consumed with seeking material gratification because they are ignorant of God’s supply and can’t claim His promise to provide. Instead of looking to God, they anxiously try to meet their needs on their own. But for a Christian to be preoccupied with material possessions and worry about the basics of life is a serious sin and uncharacteristic of his Christian faith.
The Christian faith says that God will supply all your needs and that you can trust Him (cf. Phil. 4:19). To worry about your food or your physical welfare or your clothing is to have a worldly mind. What about you? Do you face life like a Christian or an unbeliever? When things are difficult or the future is insecure, how do you react? Does your Christian faith affect your view of life? You should place everything in your life in the context of your faith—every trial, every anticipation of the future, and every present reality.
The Christian faith also says that “your heavenly Father knows” your needs (Matt. 6:32). If He knows your life and your needs, all you need to know is that He cares. And if He knows and cares, there’s no need for you to worry about anything. Your Heavenly Father has all the resources and love to provide for you.
Suggestions for Prayer
Praise your Father for knowing, caring, and providing for you.
For Further Study
Read and meditate on Psalm 145. Notice especially what God does in verses 14-16.
ping
You never did anything? At all? Really?
I had the urge to do something once,
but then I laid down until it passed.
Our inability to do anything?
Surely you can’t mean that literally. Please explain what you mean.
I didn’t write the article.
I’m guessing, however, that he’s meaning that we cannot change circumstances or hearts. There’s an awful lot in this life that we can’t control because we are not God.
But we can pray and that is doing something.
So aside from that issue that so many people seem bothered by, the rest of it was pretty dead on.
Worry is a sin, it is not trusting God, and people in general do way too much of it.
"The Christian faith says that God will supply all your needs and that you can trust Him. To worry about your food or your physical welfare or your clothing is to have a worldly mind."Since we live in a world, having a worldly mind is necessary for survival. If we are waiting for God to supply our food and clothing, rather than go out and do something about it ourselves, we're no better than entitlement-dependent parasites.
If a man does not work, he should not eat.
I think someone can work in a responsible Scriptural way for food and clothes, but not worry about it.
What he’s focusing on is worry, not attaining the stuff.
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