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What the Bible says about Take no Anxious Thoughts
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Proverbs 6:6-9

We owe a duty to God and to the affairs of this life. We are to be diligent in our business in providing for ourselves and our families. God, at the very beginning of the Book (Genesis 1-3), when He put Adam and Eve in the Garden, says that they are to dress and keep it, meaning that they are to embellish it, to add to it, and to guard it from deterioration.

Part of our responsibility is to be diligent in doing our job for our employer. We are to be careful not to squander and waste what we have. We are to look ahead and plan to provide for future demands, taking into consideration that there will be emergencies like accidents, illness, death, natural disasters. We are to prepare for such things.

If we fail to do that, it is not showing faith that "God will provide," but rather presumption and irresponsibility in throwing all the responsibility on God while we ignore ours, failing to fulfill what God instructs us to do. There is much to be learned about God's Kingdom and getting prepared for it by carefully using our resources.

The danger lies in our human proclivity to tend toward extremes. The most common is following human nature's inclination to be overly concerned about the things of this life and devoting too much time and energy to it. Jesus points this out in Matthew 6:25, advising us to “take no anxious thought.”

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Christian and the World (Part Eight)

Matthew 6:25

This verse is the beginning of an argument, a piece of logic, by Jesus. When He later repeats, “Take no anxious thought,” He is referring to the thought begun here. It is what is called an argument from the greater to the lesser—since God gave us our lives and bodies in the first place, and since He has called us, He will also sustain us.

Has He provided evidence of this? He did it for Israel in the wilderness. God delivered them from Egypt. God did great things there, signs and wonders. He divided the Red Sea. Since He did those great things, would He then fail to provide them with food and water? The same argument goes for our calling. Since He gave us life and breath, and since He called us, Jesus argues, He will also sustain us. Take no anxious thought for what you will eat, what you will drink, or what you will wear. So He who gave us the greater, life and body, will also give us the lesser, food and clothing. So Jesus is saying, "Do not confuse your priorities."

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Christian and the World (Part Eight)

Luke 12:22-23

The phrase "do not worry" suggests a greater-than-normal concern about managing what we possess. Jesus directs this admonishment toward everyone because, no matter how much we possess, the drive to get more remains, along with insecurity about losing what we already have. He is not saying we should be unconcerned about the quality of what we eat; His concern is that we worry too much about whether we will have anything to eat.

Our focus, though, is on His statement that life is more than food and clothing. It indicates that stability and serenity of mind must come from within a person, not from outward, physical provisions. To set one's heart on material possessions or to worry about the lack of them is to live in perpetual insecurity. This approach to life is a sure-fire way to deprive ourselves of a major blessing of life God wants us to enjoy. His calling enables us to live an abundant life in peace and joy. In order to do this, we must be weaned away from our overwhelming dependence upon physical things. In other words, we will not find balanced emotional stability unless and until our minds are fed with a nutritious, spiritual diet.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Eating: How Good It Is! (Part Three)


 




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