Pagans Run
Read Matthew 6:19-34.
Worry is not a Christian response...to anything.
And yet, I'm a world-class worrier. (If I don't confess that here, my wife will just tattle on me anyway!)
When I was a kid, my mom had clipped something out of a church newsletter or bulletin and put it on the refrigerator. I still remember it, because I saw it every time I opened the fridge. It said, "Do not worry, because it is..." and then it proceeded to list several Biblical passages that warned against worry. I can't tell you what was on the list because my eyes always went back to the first phrase: "Do not worry."
Worry is not a Christian response.
Jesus says so in this part of the Sermon on the Mount. He says that phrase directly: "Do not worry" (6:31). And to draw the picture even more clearly, he contrasts those who follow him with pagans. Pagans, he says, run after things. They worry about where clothes and food and drink will come from. They run constantly after those things, trying to catch just a little bit of assurance or peace. You've known people like that. Maybe you've been a person like that. They're the person that never quits working because there just might be "one more deal" that will guarantee their financial security. They're the person who endless shops to buy the newest clothes to look good because that just might gain them acceptance. Maybe they do believe in Jesus, but they come up short when trusting Jesus to provide what they need. I know that person. I've been there. I'm sometimes still there. When I'm busy worrying, I can't trust.
Now, that doesn't mean we shouldn't work and just wait for God to drop money into our laps. Paul says if we don't work, we shouldn't eat (1 Thessalonians 3:10). He's not calling us to idleness. He's calling us to do what we can, what we should, and then trust. He's calling us not to worry about status or provision but to trust in the one who owns it all. Pagans run after all those other things, endlessly worrying and never having enough. People of faith are called to trust that their Father is good and will provide what we need.
That's why worry is not a Christian response.
Jesus says...don't go where pagans run. Find rest in the presence of your good, good Father.
Worry is not a Christian response...to anything.
And yet, I'm a world-class worrier. (If I don't confess that here, my wife will just tattle on me anyway!)
When I was a kid, my mom had clipped something out of a church newsletter or bulletin and put it on the refrigerator. I still remember it, because I saw it every time I opened the fridge. It said, "Do not worry, because it is..." and then it proceeded to list several Biblical passages that warned against worry. I can't tell you what was on the list because my eyes always went back to the first phrase: "Do not worry."
Worry is not a Christian response.
Jesus says so in this part of the Sermon on the Mount. He says that phrase directly: "Do not worry" (6:31). And to draw the picture even more clearly, he contrasts those who follow him with pagans. Pagans, he says, run after things. They worry about where clothes and food and drink will come from. They run constantly after those things, trying to catch just a little bit of assurance or peace. You've known people like that. Maybe you've been a person like that. They're the person that never quits working because there just might be "one more deal" that will guarantee their financial security. They're the person who endless shops to buy the newest clothes to look good because that just might gain them acceptance. Maybe they do believe in Jesus, but they come up short when trusting Jesus to provide what they need. I know that person. I've been there. I'm sometimes still there. When I'm busy worrying, I can't trust.
Now, that doesn't mean we shouldn't work and just wait for God to drop money into our laps. Paul says if we don't work, we shouldn't eat (1 Thessalonians 3:10). He's not calling us to idleness. He's calling us to do what we can, what we should, and then trust. He's calling us not to worry about status or provision but to trust in the one who owns it all. Pagans run after all those other things, endlessly worrying and never having enough. People of faith are called to trust that their Father is good and will provide what we need.
That's why worry is not a Christian response.
Jesus says...don't go where pagans run. Find rest in the presence of your good, good Father.
So true! It's sometimes hard to remember when something first comes at us, but if we continue to entertain the worry, satan will definitely pile it on more and more.
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