Why Worry?
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6.33)
It is said that, even as the great ‘unsinkable’ Titanic was beginning to list and sink after hitting the iceberg, stewards were busying themselves on the sun-deck putting the chairs in neat rows. I suppose we all get our priorities wrong at times. Jesus knew that this was a universal weakness, not least among the people of God. He talks about it on a number of occasions, including here in the Sermon on the Mount.
We are going to look at the Christian's Concern - what are our priorities? Then at God's concern - his providential care of us.
The first thing to notice about this verse is the word 'but'. This links us with all that Jesus has been saying before about worry and anxiety. The chief concern of the Gentile, or in our world, of the non-Christian, is to seek after the material things of life - food, drink, clothing. Not that Jesus is here condemning starving men looking for food, or reasonable care for our needs. But he's condemning those who have the basics of life, who yet are preoccupied with material things. They fret and worry about the everyday things of life; about the secondary.
We all know those people who can go on and on and on about the price of milk, or their dog’s sleeping habits, or the weather… The non-Christian is often preoccupied with these secondary matters of living. His chief concern is continually to seek after these things, says Jesus in v.32. But that is not to be the Christian's chief concern. He is not to become worried and anxious about the things of today, or even, says Jesus in v. 34, about the things that might happen tomorrow. For although worry is not one of the greatest of sins, it is one of the most disabling.
The Christian who is always anxious about this and that, is never going to know the peace, and joy, and fruitful living which Jesus wishes for his disciples. Jesus doesn't want us to worry, but he doesn’t just say: "Don't worry!" We all know that that does no good at all. Like the man who said “I pay a man a thousand pounds a year to worry for me.” “How can you afford that?” his friend asks. “I can’t, but that’s his worry!”
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones sees Jesus' sense of humour coming out in our text. He paraphrases these few verses like this: "If you're not happy unless you have something to worry about, then worry about the Kingdom of God! That's what you should be preoccupied with!" This is the Christian's chief concern; to seek his kingdom - the kingdom of God - and his righteousness. But what does this phrase mean? The kingdom of God is God reigning as King in our lives - it's not an area, or a group of people - it's God's will being worked out in us. And we're not just concerned that God should rule our lives, but that he should become King also in the lives of other men and women. We pray that God’s kingdom should come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven; that God's standards of holiness and righteousness be established in the world.
Here’s another way of filling out the meaning behind the words in this verse: “we are to seek continually (for that is the meaning of the verb here) to be, first and foremost, ruled by Christ, like Christ, and longing to see Christ as Lord in the lives of others. This is the Christian's chief concern.”
We'd all say 'Amen!' to that. But we don't do it!! How often in our own lives or in our church life, we know what our Christian priorities are, and yet we put other things first!
Jesus knew, that for the rule of God to be evident in his life with power, he needed to spend time talking with God. So often we find our Lord up early in the morning, praying to God his Father. We know that if we are to be ruled by Christ and grow more like him, then everyday we need to spend time feeding on his Word, worshipping him, praying for others, praying for ourselves. And yet we let the worries of everyday living divert us from this, or reduce it to the little more than a token gesture. The mother, the student, the working man - we're all busy. But the man who is too busy to pray is too busy. Even if we cannot manage extended periods of prayer, we can all ‘practice the presence of God’. We need to get this priority straight in our minds and govern our days, our lives, by it.
In a few weeks time, many of my students will be sitting exams. In the days and months leading up to these, much of life becomes dominated by the very real priority of passing them. Shall we go and have coffee? No! We must work! Can we take this meeting? No! We've got exams! Shall we play croquet? How can we when we can't remember whether Arius was at the Council of Nicaea or Chalcedon! It becomes, in some respects, the students’ main concern, and they do everything else in the light of it.
So in our church life we must look at all our activities and meetings, our work in the local community, and ask: ‘Is this establishing the rule of Christ, making us a holy people, bringing others into the kingdom? Or is it simply diverting us from our priority, absorbing our time and manpower, while encouraging us to believe we're about the Lord's work, when really it's our own work?’
But what is God’s part in all this? ‘... and all these things shall be yours as well’ - this is God's concern: to take care of our everyday needs; to enable us to cope with the busyness of our daily lives.
CH Spurgeon preached on this text to the London Banks' Prayer Union in 1885 in the Mansion House. He illustrated this point by telling of a certain merchant who was requested by Elizabeth I to go abroad on affairs of state. He pleaded that his own business would suffer as a result, whereupon the Queen replied: "Sir, if you will mind my business, I will mind your business." If we concern ourselves with the work of God, he will concern himself with our daily work.
But it is important to note that God does not see to our needs because we put his kingdom first, as a reward. He never works in this way, for he only gives and cares because of his grace; because he is love. Jesus mentions the wealth of Solomon in v.29 Why was he so rich? Because he sought riches? No! He sought what was the most important thing for a king: discernment and the wisdom of God. We may never be rich, but when we put the things of God first, then we put ourselves in a position where he can work out the very best for our lives. When this chief concern of ours is right, then we need have no anxiety about these other matters, for we can then appreciate that we are God's concern. Sadly, we often only prove this to be true in crisis situations - when our own resources fail.
So then, is it clear to you what your priorities are? Has God shown you from his Word how you are to be ruled by Christ and more like Christ? Then make this your chief concern. Let it dominate your planning and thinking each day.
Or are you anxious about the circumstances of your life; worried about the future? Then get your priorities straight, however pressing other things appear to be, and you will increasingly realise, sometimes despite the circumstances, that you are God's concern. He cares for you.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you set your face like a flint towards Jerusalem; you pursued the cross for love of me. And your Father raised you up to glory. Help me to pursue your kingdom, whatever the cost. And help me to trust that my Father will give me all the other things I need along the road to glory. For the honour of Jesus and his church. Amen.
For the Christian Herald