Matthew 6 - Practising Righteousness Sample

Anxiety

In this last of our reflections on Matthew 6, we are focusing on the all too prevalent issue of anxiety which is a natural corollary of accumulation. Who has a lot and isn’t concerned about it being stolen, or lost, or even misplaced? The more you have, the more you fear/worry. The more we own, the higher the walls we build, the more complex the security. We are anxious about our lives: drink, food, and clothing. But life is more than food (subsisting), and the body is more than apparel. We think life is subsistence; Jesus thinks life is more than this, much more.

He invites us to trust his Father, the God who feeds the birds and clothes the grass of the field. So, why the anxiety? We are of more value than birds, and they don’t strive for necessity, and God’s provision is much more so to us than that of lilies—themselves more glorious than Solomon’s attire. Solomon’s sartorial splendor pales when compared to the lilies that neither toil nor spin. There is a provision and beauty in the created world that is a rebuke to our anxiety—the pinnacle of God’s creation, for which everything else exists and serves.

And when did anxiety add one hour to your life? It may, in fact, do the very opposite. The anxiety Jesus is speaking to is that which grips us when we strive to provide, and less about the general malaise that afflicts the Western world—that is another matter that the giving of thanks goes a long way to answering.

The Gentiles, those not in covenant connection, spend their nervous energy on basics. We don’t need to. We need faith in God’s provision and kindness. Neither be anxious about tomorrow; each day has enough issues to deal with rather than fixating on (yet unknown, and even unsubstantiated) worries for the next day. “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Jesus never projected a 21st Century "good life" as normal. Each day brings its own troubles.

God will provide what is necessary for us if we focus on what is important to him. Prioritize his kingdom (not our own) and his righteousness (not our own), and he will add food, drink, and clothing.

Have faith for today; you’ll need it, and don’t anxiously fixate on tomorrow. Heaven knows you’ve got enough on your plate a day at a time.

I hope you have enjoyed reading these reflections as much as I have preparing them. Matthew 7 is to follow. God bless and keep you.