Worry Focuses on the Wrong Things

Command 1: Don’t Worry about Your Necessities like the Pagans Do. (vv 31-32)

Jesus has already told His disciples not to worry about their basic needs in life but here He reminds them that in doing so they are acting like those who worship pagan Gods.

During this time and even in modern times many people worship a god or gods that are often thought of as capricious and made people suffer for their pleasure.

Jesus was reminding them that our God does not demand gifts for His joy rather He gives them for our joy.

We don’t serve some distant absent God, we serve the God who says tell me the desires of your heart and I will make them true.

This does not mean that we can get anything that we want we have to seek His will for our lives that is what the next command is about.

Command 2: Seek first the Kingdom of God. (v 33)

If you look at this verse the word seek is in the imperative form form which means to take action.

We must take action to seek God, we cannot just sit in idle and wait for him to do the things for us.

we have to actively go after the things of God.

“To know the will of God one must do the will of God”.

To give priority to Gods kingdom means to give our first allegiance to Him as King.

We surrender our will to His and we do His will not ours.

That is why we are not to worry or be anxious because if we are doing the will of the Father then nothing will stop us.

Righteousness is the way of life which results from this decision.

If we seek His (Christs) righteousness then we our selves will be made righteous.

The Greek word for Righteousness here is Dikaiosyne: Which refers to the quality (personality trait) of being righteous or being in the right legally or morally.

It is a cognate to the greek word justified.

The Word in Hebrew means to be made perfect like that of God.

Noah in Gen 6:9

Genesis 6:9 ESV

9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

Keep in mind Matthews audience here is Jewish, for thousands of years they believed that you are made right through the law, Jesus is saying you are made right by following Him.

When we follow the great and generous God we will never have to want for anything that we need.

We are His greatest creation the ones made in His own image, we should never doubt that He will provide for us.

We must also remember that He knows what is best for us and there is a reason He tells us no sometimes.

We just have to have faith to accept His will and to do it.