The Commands of Christ, Part Fourteen

Ok, so this command probably pulls the longest bit of scripture so far and while it’s tempting to split up into multiple commands, I think the way it all flows together is important to see so that we grasp the full instructions. Because we could look solely Matthew 6:25 and write this command as “Don’t worry.” We could focus on how Jesus takes the time to point out how God provides for the birds of the sky and we’re more important than those. We could talk about how he points out why we shouldn’t worry about clothing because the lilies of the field don’t make cloth and we’re more important to God than they are. These are great examples, but the heart of what the command truly is comes in at verse 33. So, before I ramble too much, let’s look at this cluster of verses and then we’ll break it down and why I felt led to put this all under a single command.

Matthew 6:25-34 (NASB20)

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body not more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky, they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? And which of you by worrying can add a single day to his life’s span? And why are you worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, “What are we to eat?” or “What are we to drink” or “What are we to wear for clothing?” For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So let’s first talk about why I felt like the Spirit was leading me to put this all into a single command. Most Christians know Matthew 6:33 by heart according to one translation or another. Some might be more familiar with “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” which I think is me slightly mangling the KJV from memory, but that’s what I grew up on. It would be easy to make a whole ramble about that verse. I thought about doing it, even. But I also have been shown by the Spirit that the Bible is best viewed in context and that sometimes, some of the most quoted verses, need to have their context added back in for reference. That’s why this is all folded into one command.

This cluster of scripture starts off with Jesus explaining to his followers why they don’t need to worry about their basic needs. He paints a beautiful picture of God’s love for us that we shouldn’t ignore in favor of the more popular verse. See, Jesus wants it to be clear to us that we are important to God. He shows us that God takes care of the animals of the field; things that can’t show worship to God the way we do, but God cares for them anyway. Jesus points out that God takes care of the plants of the field, again, something that can’t show worship the way we do, but God cares for them anyway. And throughout those examples, Jesus makes one clear point: we are more important to God than those things.

Take a moment to really let that sink in. God, the one who created every grain of sand, every drop of water in the ocean, every star and the empty space between them: He loves you more than anything else He created. He loves You so much that He took the form of Man, left the perfection of heaven behind, and took the most brutal punishment the world had to offer just to provide an option for you to pursue a relationship with Him. You will never meet anyone who loves you the way that God loves you. I love my wife and my kids. They are second only to God, but I am incapable of loving them the way He does. It doesn’t matter that I would die for them. It doesn’t matter that I would live for them. What we as humans understand about love is a snowflake on the tip of an iceberg compared to God’s understanding of it. And when Christ tells us that God loves us, that we are more important to Him than the rest of creation, we really need to listen and let that sink in.

See, Jesus starts by telling us that God can and will provide the things in our life that we need. He will make sure there is food on our table. He will make sure we have clothes to wear. He will make sure that we have a place to live. That doesn’t mean He will give us 5-star dinners every night. That doesn’t mean He will give us name brand pants and shirts. It doesn’t mean He will give us a mansion. It means that we won’t go without our needs. Then, Jesus tells us how we get the things we need from the Father. That is where Matthew 6:33 comes in:

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.

See, the command this cluster of verses is really illustrating is to trust God for our needs instead of putting the burden of our needs on ourselves. Verse 33 is less of a command and more a step in a set of instructions. We learned previously that the Father knows our needs before we ask for them, but that it’s still okay to ask for our “daily bread.” So, what does it mean to “seek first His kingdom…”? Let’s talk about your routine.

For me, after I wake up and handle a few morning hygiene items, I typically leave the bedroom to find a cup of coffee my wife poured for me before she left for work. She’s awesome like that. Then, when I’m acting as I should (which isn’t always), I sit down with my coffee, say a prayer, and begin my Bible study for the day. I need to confess it doesn’t happen this way every day. I want it to, but as an imperfect human, I sometimes let small details of life get in the way where I shouldn’t. I can tell the difference between the days I make it a point to spend time with God first and the days that I don’t.

Now, I feel the need to call out that God is not a petulant child who withholds good things from you or showers you with bad things just because you slipped and missed a day. He’s not snubbing you because you didn’t pray enough this week or seek Him enough this week. God doesn’t make me have bad days when I fail to seek Him first. When I fail to seek God first, however, my attention isn’t on Godly things. My heart isn’t focused on how I can let His light shine through me. I’m not putting active effort into the things I do so that every interaction I have with others leaves there day just a little bit better. I’m not focusing on being the servant leader that God calls all of us to be. When I don’t seek God’s kingdom first, my attention falls to the things I don’t have rather than the things God has provided. When I don’t seek His righteousness first, my mind hones in on all the things that annoy me and rub me the wrong way.

See, it’s not that God is withholding good things from me because I didn’t seek His kingdom or His righteousness first on a given day. I’m preventing myself from seeing the glories of God around me because I’ve made the mistake of letting my mind settle on the wrong things. Because my mind is on the wrong things, I worry. I focus on worrying how I’m going to pay my bills. I focus on worrying how I’m going to find clients for my company. I focus on worrying how I’m going to pay for my next mission trip. I focus on whether or not I’m a good enough husband, father, Christian. But God doesn’t want us to focus on these things.

There’s a saying you may hear tossed around various churches and various Christians that goes something like: “Let go and let God.” Now, this is not technically in the Bible, but it is exactly what Christ is telling us to do here.

See, the command of Christ in this passage isn’t “Don’t worry.” The command isn’t “Seek first His kingdom…” either. The command we’re being given is: “Trust God with your needs.”

I believe that the process of sanctification, of becoming a stronger Christian, is letting go of control. The more control we try to have in our lives, the less control we’re giving to God. We have to remember that His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). Jesus is clearly explaining that our role is to trust God with our needs so that our focus can be on being more like Him. God’s role is to provide what we need. A verse I love to fall back on when I’m struggling to trust God with my needs is Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

This verse reminds me that even if everything around me tells me I should be in a panic, if all the signs are saying, “Dude, you should be worried sick,” I can trust that no matter how dark the night, no matter how steep the climb: God’s plan for me will lead me to prosperity and not to disaster. By seeking His kingdom and His righteousness as the first priority in my life, I stay out of His way. It’s far more difficult to get in God’s way if you’re chasing after Him rather than putting yourself in front of him.

Put your effort into seeking His kingdom and His righteousness and trust that God’s effort is enough for your needs.