Matthew 6:25 “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 important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

I find I refer to this passage, and especially verse 33, a great deal, but what struck me just now was that this verse, that starts the passage on not worrying, starts with “Therefore.” Many years ago I heard a message on, “When you see a therefore, make sure you know what it’s there for.” The logical connections within the Bible are very important! This passage follows the very famous one about our attitude toward money, that concludes with, “You cannot serve both God and money.” Then we have this “Therefore.” The whole point, which is repeated so famously in verse 33, is that we need to be serving God and nothing else. If serving God is really our focus, then all anxiety becomes superfluous, because God, as the Creator of everything, has no trouble supplying the needs of His servants. We have such trouble getting that through our heads, because we are so used to serving money! We slave away at jobs that aren’t fulfilling, longing for the day when we can retire, instead of seeking God’s plan for our lives that will not only put food on the table, it will give us joy and satisfaction as it gives glory to Him. We serve money, that is, materialism, in more ways than we realize, and materialism is a very cruel master. There is no real peace or joy in materialism. Those who win lotteries, for example, are really excited and happy at the moment, but that fades very quickly, and assorted anxieties take their place. After all, everything on this earth is temporary, including our physical lives.

Here again I have what some people might view as an unfair advantage, because my parents worked at something they would have done even if they hadn’t been paid, so I never had the environment of “working for money.” That has had the unwanted side effect of my being a bit irresponsible with money at times, but in general it has been a huge plus. There was a period in my life, right after I got out of the Army, that I did a wide variety of jobs in an effort to provide for my family, but even then I don’t think the focus was on the money as such. As it turned out, all those jobs were interesting, and they gave me skills I never would have gained otherwise. It was during that period that my wife and I decided to take the plunge of taking out the tithe first, instead of at the end of the month, and from that month we discovered that our money went further! We have tested God’s promises and found them to be true, so I have no hesitation in repeating Jesus’ words. Don’t worry; trust God and rejoice!

Father, thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You that You are trustworthy in every area, and not just finances. Yesterday a mother who was anxious about her son came here, but he loves You, and she has nothing to worry about! Help her understand that and trust You. Help me speak Your truth in love at all times to everyone, so that we may all be freed from the trap of anxiety, to walk in Your peace and joy, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!