BY GREG CRUM

“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 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.” Matthew 6:31-34

“Take no thought.” Excuse the oxymoron, but think about what Jesus was saying here and how radically different it is from most conversations centered around the topic of one’s care and concern for those entrusted to them. Read the rest of Matthew 6 and you will see that Jesus was teaching his disciples about the proper place of the pursuit of material resources and the wonderful care of our Heavenly Father. The gist of which was that God will take care of His own, so His own would not have to spend all their efforts caring for themselves. Toward the end of this discussion, Jesus reveals something that makes most every Appalachian mother gasp in dismay: that a true faith in God’s care is worry-free.

Now, I know we have been led to believe that we only worry about “x, y and z” because we care so much about it, that worry somehow equates to love, and that if we do not worry we are not being as responsible as we should be. But the God that is love has commanded us to “take no thought for the morrow,” so what we have been led to believe cannot be leading us to God’s best in these situations.

 Friends, the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 6 are just as powerful and relevant as the day they were first spoken. And the lesson taught through them will free us from worry, in particular, worry of lack, if we choose to believe what Jesus said.

What did Jesus say? That God has what we need, and that He cares for us tremendously.

The conclusion? We should never worry that we will not have what we need when we need it. There is never a logical reason to worry about lack if you are a child of God. God is not going to run out of provision, and He is not going to quit caring about us. So just relax and turn your attention to better things.

Sounds like the best life, right?

Brothers and sisters, when we really believe that God cares enough to provide for His own and we live like it is so, we free ourselves from one of life’s most dangerous traps. We no longer feel compelled to “race” like rats for the cheese. The stuff of this world loses its control over our time, our emotions and our thoughts.

Of course, the devil understands this, and because of that, one of our greatest temptations in life is to worry about resources. Do not do it! It is a trap, and Jesus warns us sharply to rid ourselves of the doubt that grows from thinking, “Are we going to have enough?”

Why the adamant warning from Jesus found in Matthew 6? I believe that it is because he knows one of the few things that can keep us from God’s full provision in our lives is our worry that we will not have enough.

So, is worry just another way to show we care? Is it the responsible thing to do? Does it show we are “serious” about a particular matter? Not according to Jesus. Worry, “taking thought for the morrow,” in reality, is fear growing toward a harvest, an affront to God’s care for us and doubt of His ability to provide.

Greg Crum is the pastor at Calvary Temple in Lovely.