Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient to the day is its own trouble

 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient to the day is its own trouble."

- Matthew 6:25-34

We are currently reading the Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5 - 7 of Matthew's Gospel.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught:   "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon."

 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"  Jesus is warning here against anxiety -- not against thoughtful planning, my study bible says.  Our physical well-being is directly dependent on God, and indirectly on food, drink, and clothing, it notes.  Anxiety over worldly things demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care.

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."  My study bible says that because the Gentiles served pagan idols, they remained consumed by dependence on earthly things.  A reliance on God frees us from this dependence.  This is the second time that Jesus has reminded His hearers that "your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."  In speaking about prayer, He contrasted pagan prayer (using "vain repetitions") with the type of prayer to the Father He was teaching, saying, "Therefore do not be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" (see Tuesday's reading).

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient to the day is its own trouble."  The central theme of all of Jesus' teaching is the kingdom of God, and God's righteousness is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount.  Christ calls us to detach from our anxiety of earthly things so that we may look to heaven and dwell upon that faith for what we need for our lives, knowing that God is aware of our needs.  There is an important emphasis here on what is appropriate to the time, and where our focus is.   Life will always present challenges, but we needn't add to them with excess worry.

Jesus gives us an important emphasis to focus on our relationship with God.  This does several things.  He speaks of detachment from material needs.  This is not to say that we don't understand what we need, or that we don't need material things.  On the contrary, He reassures us for the second time that "your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."  He's telling us that our primary focus should be on that particular relationship, for our dependency upon God for life is our true dependency.  He asks us to look around at the beauty of the world.  Even the wildflowers have incredible beauty.  We can look to the birds and wonder at their care.  Jesus doesn't say so, but to look around ourselves at the marvel of nature and creation is to reckon with gratitude for what is truly present to us and what it tells us about our place in the cosmos.  God cares for the flowers of the field, for the smallest animals -- and how much value do we suppose God places on us?  The Incarnation itself, the Father sending His Son to be one of us and to fully and completely take on our human life in this world -- what does that really say to us about our worth in the eyes of God?  As Christians, we place our faith, hope, attention, and focus first on God's righteousness.  That is, on living that righteousness ourselves.  This puts everything else on a second rung, and it puts anxiety also in its proper place.  It's important to note as well that this particular focus Jesus teaches us includes mindfulness, a focus on the here and now.  It is a way of staying rooted within our own reality, eyes wide open to what actually is with us today.  Anxiety and worry about the future take us away from a focus on our present reality, and drives us in a kind of frenzy which is based purely on destructive speculation, a fantasy that is wholly negative.  In addition, Jesus teaches us that this sort of entanglement based on excessive attachment can cause us even more troubles than are necessary for us to deal with, adding to our burdens and challenges.  He's quite right when He tells us, "Sufficient to the day is its own trouble."  We don't need to make more for ourselves, our challenges are enough.  In a sense, He's also telling us that the crosses we need take up are measured for us; we should not add to our own burdens ourselves through excess worry and fear for the future.  It should be noted that the word for trouble is the same word as "evil."   Enough is enough.  Let us follow His loving advice!