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Worry About God

          Is it always wrong to worry? Jesus chided Martha, “You are worried and upset about many things,” yet he commended Mary who was worried about “only one thing” (Luke 10:41,42). Parents properly worry about the well being of their children so they schedule vaccinations, save up for college, read Bible stories, and enforce curfews. Yet parents can sinfully worry about their own well being and then spoil or neglect their children. Professionals properly worry about a fulfilling career that will serve God with their strengths and let their light shine as much as possible in the world, so they make difficult decisions that may not be popular with everyone close to them. Yet professionals sinfully worry by making decisions that have less to do with God’s kingdom and more to do with their own in their way, at their time, for their selfish desires.

            The Sermon on the Mount is a thinking person’s sermon. Jesus wants us to think about worry, not to simplistically dismiss all worry as bad, but to listen, consider, adjust, and grow in our Christian living as it relates to worrying. In his sermon Jesus says things like: “Settle matters quickly with your adversary (5:25) … Be careful (6:1) … Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven (6:20) … Watch out for false prophets (7:15) … A wise man built his house on the rock (7:24). All of these activities involve Christian worrying, that is, a deeply devoted Christian attention and concern.

            So Jesus both discourages faithless worrying and encourages faith-filled worrying. The Scriptures follow suit. On the one hand we hear, “Do not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6) and on the other hand, “have concern for each other” (1 Corinthians 12:25) – and the same original Greek word appears in both. The key to the difference between the two is your answer to this question: am I worrying about myself and what I want, or worrying about God and what he wants? Worry About God.

Will he feed his creatures?

            For instance, Jesus says, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” Blackbirds don’t swarm a corn field, pluck the corn off the cob, and then plant it in the ground, worried that there won’t be enough corn three months later. They don’t flock around a corn crib and flick the kernels back into storage for next year, worried that the farmer will go bankrupt and move to the city. Their Creator has taught them by animal instinct and the cycles of nature to eat the corn. He’ll make more and they trust him to do so.

            When Jesus says, “Do not worry about what you will eat or drink,” at first I think that’s an easy one because I can’t remember ever being seriously concerned that I’d starve or dehydrate. But the blackbirds teach me this: people (even Christians) do worry about food and drink – not if we’ll find any but whether it will be the kind that we want, whether it’ll be as much as we want, whether it’ll be rushed to our mouths when we want. We take it for granted that God is supposed to feed us more like kings than birds. Then we worry, arguing about how we can keep paying for top shelf brands, or fussing around trying to impress our dinner guests with more time and effort then we offer the poor, or frustrated that the long morning line at Starbucks will disrupt our busy schedule. “You [who] show contempt for the riches of his kindness,” the Bible accusingly asks, “do you think you will escape God’s judgment” (Romans 2:3,4). Like Israelites complaining about manna we’ve turned up our noses at food and drink, bothered that the basics aren’t good enough… while the birds teach us a lesson happily eating the berries, corn, and worms that God richly provides. Addressing our winged friends, Martin Luther writes, “You sleep in your little nest at night without any worry. In the morning you rise happy, sit on a tree and sing, praise, and thank God. Then you go in search of your food and find it. What a shame! Why have I, old fool that I am, not learned to do the same thing – I, who have so much reason to do so” (Lenz, Mark, God’s Providence: He Cares for You, NPH: Milwaukee, WI, 1977, p. 44 from What Luther Says).

            Children of God have so much more reason than birds to eat and drink happily. Jesus tells us, “Your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Much more valuable. In the beginning God spoke and created the birds, but when he created us he breathed his own breath into us. Much more valuable. When he assigned the order of creatures God made us superior to all the animals. Much more valuable. When our first parents sinned God shed the blood of animals to provide garments for their shameful nakedness, and shed the blood of his Son Jesus Christ to provide forgiveness for all sinners. Much more valuable. If God feeds the birds, then he’ll take care of us much more. Worry About God when it comes to food and drink. What does God want for what kind of food and drink is healthy for me? How much of it I consume? What I pay for it? To him be the glory!

Does he know his children?

            One book reports that the people of the world in 1992 had consumed as many goods and services since 1950 as all previous generations combined (Durning, Alan, How Much Is Enough? The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1992). The author compared this to surveys by The National Opinion Research Center revealing that no more Americans reported they were “very happy” in 1992 than in 1957. Despite a near doubling of gross national product and personal expenditures from the mid-50’s to the early-90’s, happiness plateaued. Happiness not found in what we have, but in knowing God. Better yet, knowing that God knows us.

            David learned how to be happy. This shepherd-boy-turned-king looked for happiness in an adulterous affair and did not find it there. His best friends told him he’d find happiness by taking a promotion that went against his values and ethics, so he declined it. Today we sang the words of a song David wrote about happiness and where he found it: not worrying about ourselves and our selfish desires, but instead … “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). A heart that worries about God and not me will find its desires fulfilled, more abundantly than ever expected. A heart that distrusts the voice of sinful flesh and trusts in God will find a contented happiness no matter what, like Paul, who “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation … I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

            Jesus assures us, “See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin … So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” One Bible translation says that flowers are carless in the care of God. Listen again to Luther: “Thank you, little flowers, you who are eaten by cows and are so highly exalted by God that you become our masters and teachers” (Lenz, p. 42). Do the flowers need to remind God that spring is near? Do they need to rally with posters and PR at the gates of heaven to get his attention so he doesn’t forget to melt the snow? Do they need to instruct God about appropriate color schemes for the roses vs. the lilies? This is not their worry, yet God exalts them. The Bible says, “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). Should you commit to the job? To getting married, or staying married? To a new financial challenge or family opportunity? Worry first about committing fully to the Lord, and then he’ll worry about the rest. Fear, love, and trust in God above all things as your Master, and he will bless you in your decision. He knows what you need.

            “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,” Jesus commands, and then promises, “and all these things will be given you as well.” Notice there is no second. Jesus doesn’t continue with a second seeking of anything because the first seeking of God makes other seeking unnecessary. “No one can serve two masters.” The birds and flowers do just fine looking to God for all they need, and trusting him to provide what is best. They look to no one else. They have only one Master, and that’s enough for them. Can that be enough for you? Worry about only thing. Worry About God – and live careless in the care of God. Amen.

Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on February 27, 2011

Services

Sundays 7:45, 9:00 & 10:30 am

Mondays 6:30 pm

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1209 North Broadway Milwaukee, WI 53202 | (414) 271-3006

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