Toward a Fearless TomorrowSample

See the Something Greater

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25)

We shouldn't be anxious about these things. Why? "Because life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing." What does this mean?

Why do we tend to get anxious about food and clothing? Because there are three things that we would lose if we did not have food and clothing.

First, we would lose some pleasures. Food tastes good. It is pleasurable to eat. Second, we would lose some human praise and admiring glances if we didn't have nice clothes. Third, we would lose long life if we had no food at all or weren't protected from the cold with warm clothes. So we get anxious about food and clothing because we don't want to lose physical pleasures or human praise or length of life.

And to this Jesus responds: If you are gripped by anxiety over these things, you have lost sight of the greatness of life. Life was not given primarily for physical pleasures, but for something greater—the enjoyment of God. Life was not given primarily for the approval of man, but for something greater—the approval of God. Life was not even given primarily for extension on this earth, but for something greater—eternity with God in the age to come.

We ought not to be anxious about food and clothing because food and clothing can not provide the great things of life—the enjoyment of God, the pursuit of his gracious favor, the hope of eternity in his presence. We get anxious about food and clothing to the same degree that we lose sight of the great purposes of a God-centered life.