14 April 2018 — No os afanéis
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Wright
The modern Western world is built on anxiety. You see it on the faces of people hurrying to work. You see it even more as they travel home, tired but without having solved life’s problems. The faces are weary, puzzled, living with the unanswerable question as to what it all means. This world thrives on people setting higher and higher goals for themselves, and each other, so that they can worry all day and all year about whether they will reach them. If they do, they will set new ones. If they don’t, they will feel they’ve failed. Was this really how we were supposed to live?
Jesus’ warnings indicate that much of the world at least, for much of human history, has faced the same problem. The difference, though, is the level at which anxiety strikes. Many of Jesus’ hearers only just had enough to live on, and there was always the prospect that one day they wouldn’t have even that. Most of them would have perhaps one spare garment vestimenta, but not more. As with many in today’s non-Western world, one disaster—the family breadwinner being sick or injured, for example—could mean instant destitution. And it was to people like that, not to people worried about affording smart cars and foreign holidays, that Jesus gave his clear and striking commands about not worrying over food and clothing.
We now know that anxiety itself can be a killer. Stress and worry can cause disease, or contribute to it—producing the enchanting prospect of people worrying about worrying, a downward spiral that perhaps only a good sense of humour can break. As with so much of his teaching, what Jesus says here goes to the heart of the way we are. To inhale a bracing lungfull of his good sense is health-giving at every level. But his warnings and commands go deeper as well, down to the roots of the problem he faced in confronting his contemporaries with the message of God’s kingdom. This wasn’t just good advice on how to live a happy, carefree life feliz y sin preocupaciones. This was a challenge to the very centre of his world.
The kingdom of God is, at its heart, about God’s sovereignty sweeping the world with love and power, so that human beings, each made in God’s image and each one loved dearly, may relax in the knowledge that God is in control. Reflecting on the birds and the flowers isn’t meant to encourage a kind of romantic nature-mysticism, but to stimulate serious understanding: God, the creator, loves to give good gifts, loves to give you the kingdom—loves, that is, to bring his sovereign care and rescue right to your own door. At the heart of the appeal is the difference that Israel should have recognized, between ‘the nations of the world’ and those who call God ‘Father’—that is, between Gentile nations and Israel herself. If the gods you worship are distant and removed, or are simply nature-gods without personhood of their own, then of course you will be worried. If your God is the father who calls you his child, what is to stop you trusting him?
The final appeal, which will be repeated at various stages later in Luke, is not necessarily for all followers of Jesus to get rid of all their possessions. Luke himself, in Acts, describes Christian communities in which most members live in their own houses with their own goods around them, and there is no suggestion that they are second-class or rebellious members of God’s people. Jesus is returning to the sharing of inheritance with which the passage began, and is advocating the opposite attitude to the grasping and greed which he saw there.
MacArthur
It is an amazing and ironic truth that while ours is perhaps the most affluent, indulged, and comfortable society ever, la sociedad más opulenta, complaciente y cómoda de la historia, it is also the most stressed out, worried, and anxiety-ridden one el más estresado, preocupado y angustiado. No worry goes unnamed, undefined, uncataloged, undiagnosed, or unmedicated; worries merely go unrelieved. sin nombrar, sin definir, sin catalogar, sin diagnoticar, sin medicar; simplemente la preocupaciones no se alivian. It is frightening to believe one is trapped in an inexplicable universe; to be nothing more than the chance product of a blind, unguided, random, purposeless process of evolution that did not have man in mind. The thought that there is no one home in the universe results in a sense of cosmic alienation, loneliness, and angst. The anxiety that results takes many forms, to which humanistic psychology gives labels such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress syndrome, social anxiety disorder, general anxiety disorder, trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo, trastorno de pánico, síndrome de estrés postraumático, trastorno de ansiedad social, trastorno de ansiedad general, as well as specific phobias, fobias such as fear of heights, enclosed places, mice, spiders, or snakes. Anxiety affects millions of people and treating it (usually by drugs) is a big business.
It is an amazing and ironic truth that while ours is perhaps the most affluent, indulged, and comfortable society ever, it is also the most stressed out, worried, and anxiety-ridden one. No worry goes unnamed, undefined, uncataloged, undiagnosed, or unmedicated; worries merely go unrelieved. It is frightening to believe one is trapped in an inexplicable universe; to be nothing more than the chance product of a blind, unguided, random, purposeless process of evolution that did not have man in mind. The thought that there is no one home in the universe results in a sense of cosmic alienation, loneliness, and angst. The anxiety that results takes many forms, to which humanistic psychology gives labels such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress syndrome, social anxiety disorder, general anxiety disorder, as well as specific phobias, such as fear of heights, enclosed places, mice, spiders, or snakes. Anxiety affects millions of people and treating it (usually by drugs) is a big business.
The best the world can hope for in superficially dealing with anxiety is to manage it and mask its impact. manejarla y ocultar su impacto. The Lord Jesus Christ, however, offers a radically different solution to anxiety—He promises to eliminate it. In this passage Jesus forbids worry concerning either the material world or the spiritual realm. In verse 22 He prohibited worry about the physical needs of life when He said to His disciples,
Dijo luego a sus discípulos: Por tanto os digo: No os afanéis por vuestra vida, qué comeréis; ni por el cuerpo, qué vestiréis.
In verse 32 He declared that those who believe in Him have nothing to fear in the spiritual realm either:
No temáis, manada pequeña, porque a vuestro Padre le ha placido daros el reino.
“For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.” In verse 32 He declared that those who believe in Him have nothing to fear in the spiritual realm either: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” The Lord also dealt with worry and anxiety in the Sermon on the Mount (, , , ; cf. 10:19), indicating that this was a frequent theme of His teaching.
The Lord also dealt with worry and anxiety in the Sermon on the Mount (, , , ; cf. 10:19), indicating that this was a frequent theme of His teaching.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” The Lord also dealt with worry and anxiety in the Sermon on the Mount (, , , ; cf. 10:19), indicating that this was a frequent theme of His teaching.
Worry stems from two things: ignorance and, especially, unbelief incredulidad. Many Christians needlessly worry because they do not understand the depth of revelation on God’s gracious love and care. But there are others who understand God’s nature and promises, yet fall into worry anyway. To be needlessly ignorant is a sin, but to knowingly distrust God’s self-revelation in Scripture is an even greater sin.
In this passage the Lord Jesus Christ revealed truths about God that if misunderstood or mistrusted result in worry.
Body
The preceding parable about the folly of the rich fool’s greed is intimately connected with the following text, which deals with worry. “Greed codicia can never get enough, worry is afraid it may not have enough.” Worry is the emotional reward of material preoccupation.
DON’T WORRY! (VV. 22, 23)
Jesus understood that worry about the things of life could undo a disciple’s career.
Dijo luego a sus discípulos: Por tanto os digo: No os afanéis por vuestra vida, qué comeréis; ni por el cuerpo, qué vestiréis. La vida es más que la comida, y el cuerpo que el vestido.
Those who chose to be on the road with Jesus necessarily lived on the edge in respect to their food and clothing. If a disciple worried about breakfast, and then when breakfast was provided, thought, Whew! That’s over. Now where will lunch come from? that disciple would soon become neutralized and spiritually ineffective.
“Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes’ ” (vv. 22, 23). Those who chose to be on the road with Jesus necessarily lived on the edge in respect to their food and clothing. If a disciple worried about breakfast, and then when breakfast was provided, thought, Whew! That’s over. Now where will lunch come from? that disciple would soon become neutralized and spiritually ineffective.
There is a broad application of this truth to all would-be disciples of Jesus in today’s culture, because modern culture is neurotic about food, drink, and clothing. TV ads feed our neuroses with alluring images of lithe legs in jeans and painted lips ecstatically downing chips and prunes and libations. Perhaps nothing does this better than airline magazines with their sumptuous beaux arts ads for champagne, antiques, carpets, watches, and “esoteric shopping sprees in Rome.” Every product imaginable for the body is promoted—how to tan it, massage it, pamper it, clothe it, drug it, and stimulate it. cómo broncearlo, masajearlo, mimarlo, vestirlo, drogarlo y estimularlo.
Modern culture addresses worries we did not know we had, worries that neutralize our discipleship. But Jesus commands us not to worry about life.
La vida es más que la comida, y el cuerpo que el vestido.
We must reject the popular reductionist view of life that claims we are just bodies that need to be fed, watered, clothed, and serviced—putting us on the same level as plants and animals and reducing “God” to our needs. Life is more than a good meal and a new outfit. And it is certainly more than worrying about these things.
“Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes” (v. 23). We must reject the popular reductionist view of life that claims we are just bodies that need to be fed, watered, clothed, and serviced—putting us on the same level as plants and animals and reducing “God” to our needs. Life is more than a good meal and a new outfit. And it is certainly more than worrying about these things.
DON’T WORRY ABOUT FOOD (VV. 24–26)
Consider the Birds
Concerning food, Jesus said,
Considerad los cuervos, que ni siembran, ni siegan; que ni tienen despensa, ni granero, y Dios los alimenta. ¿No valéis vosotros mucho más que las aves?
[Stop at …Dios los alimenta…]
The ravens and their little brothers the crows were and are everywhere, in every nation of the world. They are in fact scavengers ave de rapiña and in biblical times were considered unclean (cf. Leviticus 11:15). These insolent, squawking birds know nothing of the prudential habits of a farmer (note the farm language here: “sow … reap … storeroom … barn”), and yet God feeds them. This does not mean that Jesus’ followers are not to work, for in other places the Scriptures employ other animals as examples of hard work. Jesus was merely holding up a common bird that lives according to its God-given capabilities and function, and showing that God provides for it.
Consider Yourself
Jesus says, in effect, “Consider the birds and then consider yourself”—
Considerad los cuervos, que ni siembran, ni siegan; que ni tienen despensa, ni granero, y Dios los alimenta. ¿No valéis vosotros mucho más que las aves?
[start at …¿No valéis vosotros....]
We are much more valuable than a bunch of rascally crows cuervos, and God will take care of us.
Said the Robin cuervo to the Sparrow, gorrión
“I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.” se apuran y preocupan tanto
Said the Sparrow to the Robin,
“Friend, I think that it must be
They have no Heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me.”
—AUTHOR UNKNOWN
Well said. But the actual truth is even more compelling because birds, in the full sense, do not have a heavenly Father. Only we, his children, can call him Father because we bear his image (cf. , ). And because of this, we are more mysterious and complex than anything the Hubble telescope will ever see. We are even more enduring than any young star. And if we know him, we have double-paternity. He is our Father-Creator and our Father-Regenerator. redimió So why should we ever worry? Worry insults God and defies reality.
Worry’s Absurdity
¿Y quién de vosotros podrá con afanarse añadir a su estatura un codo? Pues si no podéis ni aun lo que es menos, ¿por qué os afanáis por lo demás?
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (vv. 25, 26). In truth, worry shortens life and desolates what is left. Kierkegaard said, “No Grand Inquisitor has in readiness such terrible tortures as anxiety.”
In truth, worry shortens life and desolates what is left. Kierkegaard said, “No Grand Inquisitor has in readiness such terrible tortures as anxiety.” "Ningún Gran Inquisidor tiene preparadas torturas tan terribles como la ansiedad".
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (vv. 25, 26). In truth, worry shortens life and desolates what is left. Kierkegaard said, “No Grand Inquisitor has in readiness such terrible tortures as anxiety.”
Worriers feel every blow
That never falls
And they cry over things
They will never lose.
Worriers fear, worriers suffer, worriers wither and twist and die. Worry takes a terrible toll, and we see it every day—the stammer in mid-sentence, the distractedness, the missed appointment, the wasted hour in front of the TV, the second pack of cigarettes. Worry is not a moral virtue in a disciple of Christ. Worry is not something to be proud of. It is a desiccator, a shriveler.
WORRY ABOUT CLOTHING (VV. 27, 28)
Consider the Flowers
Jesus now introduces a second focus:
Considerad los lirios, cómo crecen; no trabajan, ni hilan; mas os digo, que ni aun Salomón con toda su gloria se vistió como uno de ellos.
Most see “lilies” here as referring to the various bright flowers that dot the Palestinian fields in the spring—the scarlet anemone, the Easter daisy, the autumn crocus, the poppies. A bee’s-eye view of any of these reveals ravishing beauty, and the tiniest flowers are often the most ornate in their textures and colors. We adorn our walls with their botanic prints. The great American artist Georgia O’Keefe has entranced the world with her sensuous paintings of such flowers. Indeed, Solomon’s robes were paupers’ rags in comparison.
“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these” (v. 27). Most see “lilies” here as referring to the various bright flowers that dot the Palestinian fields in the spring—the scarlet anemone, the Easter daisy, the autumn crocus, the poppies. A bee’s-eye view of any of these reveals ravishing beauty, and the tiniest flowers are often the most ornate in their textures and colors. We adorn our walls with their botanic prints. The great American artist Georgia O’Keefe has entranced the world with her sensuous paintings of such flowers. Indeed, Solomon’s robes were paupers’ rags in comparison.
Is this hyperbole? Not at all! It is certain truth from the lips of the God-man Jesus who picked the flowers of the field, sniffed their fragrance, and looked joyfully at their beauty. The flowers existed without concern or worry, though they were only passing ornaments of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. ()
Consider Yourself
So in light of their magnificent, transitory adornment, Jesus’ logic is,
Y si así viste Dios la hierba que hoy está en el campo, y mañana es echada al horno, ¿cuánto más a vosotros, hombres de poca fe?
His followers are not only citizens of earth but of eternity. They are not temporary but eternal. God will certainly see to it that his own are properly clothed.
“If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!” (v. 28). His followers are not only citizens of earth but of eternity. They are not temporary but eternal. God will certainly see to it that his own are properly clothed.
The “how much more” phrase is a huge argument as to why we are not to worry. Luther quaintly said of the lesson of the flowers: “It seems … that the flowers stand there and make us blush and become our teachers. Thank you, flowers, you who are to be devoured by the cows! God has exalted you very highly, that you become our masters and teachers.” We are to consider the flowers, then consider ourselves. If we persist in worry, it is because we are “of little faith”—we do not believe God’s Word. It is as simple as that! We do not believe he is in control. We do not believe he is capable of taking care of us. We do not believe what his Word tells us about his love and care for his own. Disbelief is the midwife of worry.
A DON’T AND A DO (VV. 29–32)
Don’t!
Jesus again reiterated his command not to worry, with a slight variation:
Vosotros, pues, no os preocupéis por lo que habéis de comer, ni por lo que habéis de beber, ni estéis en ansiosa inquietud. Porque todas estas cosas buscan las gentes del mundo; pero vuestro Padre sabe que tenéis necesidad de estas cosas.
Lucas 12:29–
Worry is intrinsically useless, and especially so for Christians because God knows what we need.
“And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them” (vv. 29, 30). Worry is intrinsically useless, and especially so for Christians because God knows what we need.
When Lincoln was on his way to Washington to be inaugurated, he spent some time in New York with Horace Greeley and told him an anecdote that was meant to be an answer to the question everybody was asking him: Are we really going to have a civil war? In his circuit-riding days Lincoln and his companions, riding to the next session of court, had crossed many swollen rivers on one particular journey, but the formidable Fox River was still ahead of them. They said one to another, “If these streams give us so much trouble, how shall we get over the Fox River?” When darkness fell, they stopped for the night at a log tavern, where they fell in with the Methodist presiding elder of the district who rode through the country in all kinds of weather and knew all about the Fox River. They gathered about him and asked him about the present state of the river. “Oh, yes,” replied the circuit rider, “I know all about the Fox River. I have crossed it often and understand it well. But I have one fixed rule with regard to the Fox River—I never cross it till I reach it.”
Worry projects the worst: the Fox becomes the mighty Mississippi at flood stage. The worrier is perpetually going unfed and unclothed. Worry loads the present with the weight of the future. And when you load the troubles you are anticipating upon the troubles you are presently experiencing, you give yourself an impossible burden. As George MacDonald wisely put it: “No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today, that the weight is more than a man can bear.” Jesus said just that in his summary statement of the parallel passage in Matthew:
Así que, no os afanéis por el día de mañana, porque el día de mañana traerá su afán. Basta a cada día su propio mal.
Obsessive worry about food and clothing is actually pagan.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” ().
Porque todas estas cosas buscan las gentes del mundo; pero vuestro Padre sabe que tenéis necesidad de estas cosas.
Obsessive worry about food and clothing is actually pagan. “For the pagan world runs after such things,” said Jesus (v. 30). We are not to worry. We are to live like Christians, trusting God to take care of us!
[stop at ....gentes del mundo....]
Y si la hierba del campo que hoy es, y mañana se echa en el horno, Dios la viste así, ¿no hará mucho más a vosotros, hombres de poca fe?
said Jesus (v. 30). We are not to worry. We are to live like Christians, trusting God to take care of us!
Do!
The power to live above worry is found in the famous positive command that Jesus gave next:
Mas buscad el reino de Dios, y todas estas cosas os serán añadidas.
The meaning of this remarkable command and promise has suffered unconscionable twisting from evangelical Christians who have wrenched it from its context and used it to justify an overemphasis on material luxury. I once saw an expensive ski boat with emblazoned on the hull. The driver was announcing to the world that he had his ski boat because God was first in his life.
“But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well” (v. 31). The meaning of this remarkable command and promise has suffered unconscionable twisting from evangelical Christians who have wrenched it from its context and used it to justify an overemphasis on material luxury. I once saw an expensive ski boat with emblazoned on the hull. The driver was announcing to the world that he had his ski boat because God was first in his life.
The license plate of a large luxury car I once saw parked in a church parking lot read “TITHE.” No one could mistake the message: “I give to God, and God has given this to me. If you gave like I do, you would have one too.”
Mas buscad primeramente el reino de Dios y su justicia, y todas estas cosas os serán añadidas.
The license plate of a large luxury car I once saw parked in a church parking lot read “TITHE.” No one could mistake the message: “I give to God, and God has given this to me. If you gave like I do, you would have one too.”
The context of Jesus’ promise both here and in Matthew is not about luxuries but life’s essentials—food and clothing. We Americans all have many luxuries, but to imagine that we have them because we have sought God’s kingdom is a wicked delusion. If that were the case, a Mafia don’s luxuries would be the result of his spiritual priorities!
The transcending point of “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well” is that one’s liberation from worry about the things of life comes from “seeking his kingdom.” Those who make the kingdom of God their foremost aim have no need to worry about life’s essentials. If we seek the development of his rule in our lives and the lives of others through the gospel, if we pray and work to this end as good disciples, we need not and will not worry! One’s commitment to the kingdom is the key to a life liberated from worry and anxiety.
In point of fact, Jesus’ followers already have the kingdom:
No temáis, manada pequeña, porque a vuestro Padre le ha placido daros el reino.
L
The benefits are ours already, and they ought to liberate us from fear and worry about material things—and will loosen the grip of possessions upon us too.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (v. 32). The benefits are ours already, and they ought to liberate us from fear and worry about material things—and will loosen the grip of possessions upon us too.
GIVE (VV. 33, 34)
Jesus concluded his teaching by exhorting his followers to a life of giving as the crowning liberation from worry over things.
Divest
He told his disciples to
Vended lo que poseéis, y dad limosna; haceos bolsas que no se envejezcan, tesoro en los cielos que no se agote, donde ladrón no llega, ni polilla destruye.
The disciples were on the road with Jesus and, like Jesus himself, had no place to lay their heads (cf. 9:58). Jesus had left his trade behind, and so had they. They were ex-fishermen and craftsmen artesanos for the most part. Their giving away of virtually everything they had, had liberated them to go anywhere Jesus went.
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” (v. 33). The disciples were on the road with Jesus and, like Jesus himself, had no place to lay their heads (cf. 9:58). Jesus had left his trade behind, and so had they. They were ex-fishermen and craftsmen for the most part. Their giving away of virtually everything they had, had liberated them to go anywhere Jesus went.
There are times when Christ calls believers to give up everything, to totally disengage from their old lives to follow him. Barbara and I have some friends who did this as newlyweds. The young bride was concerned about her husband’s languid spiritual life. He was a professor at the University of Minnesota and was quite content to do nothing with his faith—even attend church. So she prayed fervently for his soul but got more than she bargained for when he came home and said:
I’ve been reading the Bible where it says, “
Vended lo que poseéis, y dad limosna; haceos bolsas que no se envejezcan, tesoro en los cielos que no se agote, donde ladrón no llega, ni polilla destruye.
and I think we should do it!
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” (v. 33), and I think we should do it!
Then she really started praying! Though this was a radical step, they did it. They sold everything except a few changes of clothing, bought a double sleeping bag, and hit the road for Jesus. They eventually ended up in Albuquerque where they were mightily used to evangelize the sixties generation. Today they own a home and live very conventionally, but they are characterized by constant ministry and reaching out to others.
All of us are called to divest ourselves. For a few it may be like the couple just mentioned—on the road with Jesus and his disciples. For others, it means to loosen your grip on your possessions, to hold everything loosely, to share what you have, to use your possessions to serve others, and to give—“Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” haceos bolsas que no se envejezcan, tesoro en los cielos que no se agote, donde ladrón no llega, ni polilla destruye. (v. 33). Heavenly treasure will endure—heavenly purses will never spring holes. Such is the treasure that a generous lifestyle stores up.
We are to be generous with everything—our money, our homes, our possessions, our luxuries, our time, our lives. Everything we have must be committed to Christ. If you have never done it before, pray through all you have, giving everything to God, especially your most treasured possessions. Put everything at his feet, so he can use it as he desires.
Invest
Jesus concluded with impeccable logic,
Porque donde está vuestro tesoro, allí estará también vuestro corazón.
Heart and treasure always go together. Your heart, the center of your being, is where your valuables, your energies, your time, all the things you value most, are.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v. 34). Heart and treasure always go together. Your heart, the center of your being, is where your valuables, your energies, your time, all the things you value most, are.
Where is your heart? In your barns and storehouses? In a Swiss bank account? On the golf course? In your home? In your kitchen? In your yard? In your wardrobe? In your car?
Or is it in Heaven? In your church? In the inner city of Chicago? In the poor? In Africa or China or South America or the islands of the sea?
If it is there, you have no worries!