Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Don't worry

Okay, so Matthew 6 says, Don't worry about tomorrow.

Easier said than done. What should we do instead?

Seek his kingdom and his righteousness.

What does that mean?

Well, what do the words mean? What is God's kingdom? What is God's righteousness?

Hm. Matthew abounds with descriptions of the kingdom. It is near. It is good seed among tares. It is a mustard seed. It is yeast worked into dough. It is a treasure hidden in a field and a pearl of great price. It is a net that catches all kinds of fish. It is a settling of accounts and forgiveness of debt. It belongs to children and those like children but is difficult of access for the rich. It is payment for work where some get more than they deserve. It is a wedding banquet. It is a bridegroom who shows up unexpectedly and an absentee boss who comes back to see what his employees have produced.

Righteousness includes not publicly disgracing the pregnant girl you were engaged to. We should hunger and thirst for it, we may be persecuted for it, and we need more of it than the Pharisees had (and they had a lot of it). It makes no difference in the rainfall. We should do it secretly. We should welcome those who have it. It is the difference between wheat and tares and between good fish and bad fish. It is the way that John the Baptizer showed. It is feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, inviting the stranger in, clothing the needy, visiting the sick, and visiting the prisoner.

Or as the prophet Micah put it: "And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8).

Do this instead of worrying. And while you're doing it, God will take care of all the stuff you're worrying about.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:31-34.

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