For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
Matthew 6:32 NIVUK
In this verse, where it says that the pagans run after these things, the Greek also means to crave or clamour after them, to demand them.
What this doesn't mean is that we have a theological excuse to sit naked and starving in our houses until God does a miracle and provides us with food and clothes. No, that would be insane. What this passage means is that we should not obsess over them.
You see, the word translated 'pagan' here refers to the non-Jews, the Gentiles. The two most prominent Gentile races at the time were the Greeks and the Romans. Both of them were known for their taste for the finer things in life: for fine clothes and fine food. The clothes you wore in their days spoke of your status in society. And the food you ate spoke of your wealth. In fact, they took it to ridiculous lengths. History tells us that, when people went to dinner parties, they would eat until they were full, then they would deliberately make themselves sick so they could eat some more.
Absolutely vile, right?
But then, what will history say about a culture where almost half of the food it produces is fed to animals or composted because it 'didn't look right'? What will history say about a culture that demands countries destroy their forests - their lungs - so we can get palm oil to wash our face and hair? What will history say about a culture that demands prices for clothing which are so cheap that workers in third world countries are held in virtual slavery in unsanitary, unsafe conditions, while the dyes from the factories leech into their rivers and groundwater, poisoning their food and their children? What will history say about a culture that created the idea of 'fast fashion', where clothes are designed to fall apart so they can be quickly replaced and broken garments are discarded into landfill back in the countries where they were originally made?
There is no doubt at all that our obsession with eating well and dressing well has done immense harm. Coronavirus has done us an enormous favour. Among the hundreds of types of stores that have temporarily closed are our garment and footwear stores. They have been deemed 'non-essential'.
Imagine! The stores where we queued from the early hours in the morning to save a few pounds are closed because we don't need them. The influencers who were paid by them to persuade us to buy are now silent. The adverts that tried to tell us that we were less than adequate because we didn't possess their goods are now gone. We are reassessing our lives. We are re-calibrating our priorities. We aren't obsessing over these things anymore.
There are other things that we could obsess over instead: gadgets, technology, high scores on computer games, streaks on apps, binge watching TV shows, whether or not we've seen a film or a viral video or a meme. Honestly, we need to reassess these too. Are they really so important to us? Are they really worth it?
Luke records a very interesting, and well-known event:
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’
Luke 10:38-42 NIVUK
We often interpret this as meaning that there is a time to be still before the Lord. And that is absolutely true. But did you know there is a direct connection to Matthew 6: 31-32? The same word that we are translating as worries or anxieties is used in both Matthew and the story of Mary and Martha. Martha was worried about 'many things' - things that had their place - but were not the most important. They took her away from the feet of Jesus and stopped her from listening to Him.
Matthew, Mark and Luke all warn of this elsewhere, specifically using the same word in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:18-19; Luke 8:14).
What we see in front of us is the need to assess the value these activities bring us. Our modern culture brings us a million activities we could be involved in. But most of these are trivial, useless, of no value at all. We become plants that grow and produce neither fruit nor blossom, but are self-satisfied with our own existence. We need to heed the sharp warnings from Scripture (Luke 13:6-9; Matthew 3:10; John 15:1-2).
To manage our anxiety levels, we need to ask ourselves if the thing we are anxious about is even worth the energy. Is it something we need? Is it something that is productive? Is it of any importance? Many of the things that cause us great anxiety are absolutely not worth it at all We might think clothing and food are worth it. But Jesus says otherwise (Matthew 6:25-30).
Clothes, food, cars, houses... everything we see as a status symbol: all that causes envy and pride... these things have far too much value in our society. What matters more is simply having clothes and having food. Jesus says here that our Heavenly Father 'knows that we need them'. My experience, and the experience of millions of Christians around the globe, is that He provides them (Genesis 22:14; Psalms 111:5; Psalms 37:25).
So to those of you who have clothes on your back, food in your bellies and a roof over your head, I say, "Stop being anxious! God has already provided and He will keep providing!"
To those of you who do not have these things - my heart goes out to you - please do not allow yourself to be anxious. Anxiety will not help you. Please bring these before the Lord. He will take care of you. And be willing to accept help when it comes.
So we have seen that anxiety is a choice, and that we can choose not to be anxious by rejecting lies and believing the truth. We have also seen that anxiety is an obsession, which we can beat by re-evaluating the importance of the things we are obsessing about. In my next post, we will see that ANXIETY IS A MISDIRECTION.
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