Matthew 6:25-34. GOD FORBID WORRY 25 Therefore I say to you, Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; 29 Yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. The Lord does not forbid common prudent planning, nor does He encourage carelessness, thoughtlessness, or laziness, but He does forbid worry, fear of worry, which robs life of its joy! 7 Reasonings of Jesus: (1) If God has given us life, then He will provide the things necessary to maintain that life! (verse 25) (2) Jesus talks about birds (verse 26) It does not mean that birds do not work. Actually, no bird is lazy, but certainly no bird worries! They do not save for the future, but they still survive. (how birds build nests) (3) Verse 27. Jesus shows a reality: worrying is always useless! In the original, this sentence has 2 meanings: One is that worrying does not make us taller than a cubit (45 centimeters) - Two is that it does not make our life longer than a moment! (Vietnamese version is a moment: 15') (4) Lilies of the field are red poppies and white peonies, which usually bloom for only one day on the hills of Palestine. The comparison between Solomon's robe and wild flowers shows God's love for all things, even the short-lived ones that He cares about, let alone us, His most beloved creatures. (5) Verse 32. The characteristic of pagans is anxiety, if we are anxious, it means we are like pagans, because they do not know God. Those who know God cannot be anxious, must not be anxious. Anxiety is not trusting God. We call God Father, unlike pagans! (6) The solution to anxiety: verse 33, seek first the kingdom of God. Focusing on seeking God's will and accepting to do it will help us overcome anxiety. Besides, love is the driving force that helps people overcome all bad things, if the love of God is full in our hearts, we will overcome anxiety. (7) God teaches us to learn the art of living one day at a time (verse 34). The Jews often say: “You worry about tomorrow, yet you do not know what will happen today. If you die today, you have worried about a world that does not belong to you.” Jesus wants us to live according to the needs of each day. Jesus is against anxiety because: (1) Anxiety is unnecessary, useless, and harmful. Stomach ulcers and heart attacks are mostly caused by anxiety. It is said that the person who lives longest is the one who laughs the most. Anxiety wears out the mind, weakens the body. Anxiety affects judgment, weakens capacity, and destroys strength. Do your best, and leave the rest to God. (2) Anxiety is blind. Anxiety takes away spiritual vision, does not see what God has prepared in nature, and denies what God has done for us in the past. (3) Anxiety is ungodly. Tauler, a German, met a beggar, and when he wished him luck and happiness, the beggar said: “Every day I am lucky, I am happy, rain or shine I thank you, your will is my will, I am king, king of my heart!” Isaiah 26:3. He who keeps his mind on you, you will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in you. Worry is sin, and this sin makes man useless. God’s command is to remove worry and have peace in you.