Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life….”
Matthew 6:25
You might want to go back to the previous Good Words to consider the context for the ‘therefore’ found here. Jesus laid a foundation for us to avoid anxiety in life in the previous verses of Matthew 6:19-24. As he continues his sermon in verses 25-34, He gives the cure for anxiety.
Oxford’s online dictionary translates anxiety as ~ a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. This is the mental health crisis reflected in our society today.
Oxford notes this from the PSYCHIATRY viewpoint ~
“ a mental condition characterized by excessive apprehensiveness about real or perceived threats, typically leading to avoidance behaviors and often to physical symptoms such as increased heart rate and muscle tension. "We are seeing more calls related to anxiety and depression.”
When Jesus said ‘do not worry about your life’….. we find from the Greek word in Helps Word Study the following definition ~
3309merimnáō (from 3308/mérimna, "a part, as opposed to the whole") – properly, drawn in opposite directions; "divided into parts" (A. T. Robertson); (figuratively) "go to pieces" when pulled apart (in different directions),
3809 (merimnaō ) is "an old verb for worry and anxiety – literally, to be divided, distracted" (WP, 2, 156). It is more commonly used in this negative sense in the NT.
3309/merimnaō ("divided from anxiety") disunifies a person and robs them of God's peace (His gift of wholeness). 3309 (merimnaō) comes "from meris/merizō, meaning care or anxiety that distracts and divides" (WP at Mt 6:25), i.e. "to be distracted" (WP, 1, 376).
Sometimes, we can be so overwhelmed with life's immediate needs that we forget that God is working to establish a purpose in everything. Whether it is the right thought or action, He has a way that leads us into the abundant life that He has prepared for us to walk in, ‘wholeness,’ if you will.
This requires our ability to pause and consider. We need to reflect and ask before we take any further steps. It’s not simply ‘don’t think about that.’ Jesus tells us what and who we are to think about. You can’t serve two masters.
Of course, sometimes, the practical does not allow that, and we operate from a purely instinctive response. Those moments do reveal what the heart carries.
Jesus highlights anxiety being seen in our speech when he says, “Therefore do not be anxious saying”…. Matthew 6: 31 and Matthew 12:34 Jesus says it is ‘out of the abundance of our hearts our mouth speaks. From Mark’s gospel, he tells us it’s the ‘evil thoughts’ that have the power to defile us, Mark 6:20-21.
The only way we can be sure of the proper responses would be by abiding. If I abide in Him and He abides in me - well, things go better. You know this word abide means to settle in and dwell. It is a permanent state we live in, and within the abiding belongs the seeking.
Jesus, in this portion of His sermon, tells us what we are to consider and why. I have the wonderful gift of sitting at my desk and viewing the great outdoors. I see the birds, the trees, the majesty of the Pacific Ocean, the islands, and the mountains, and I am able to consider the greatness of my creator. I am able to lift my head and consider all that Jesus exhorts in this chapter of Matthew. OR, I can totally overlook all this wonder and be consumed with my fears. The choice is mine. The choice is yours. Obviously, the right choice is to consider Him and His word. To lay aside every other consideration and hold my attention to the one I am to seek first.
Jesus promises that if I will seek first His kingdom (the one that holds righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost; if it lies outside of that, it’s not Kingdom), everything else will be added. I don’t have to seek after the need. I don’t have to solve the problem. I have to seek first what is right and peaceable, and in obedience, I hold His joy.
And then He assures us tomorrow will have its own issues, but for today, this was sufficient.