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 if 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 for the day is its own trouble."

- Matthew 6:25-34

Yesterday we read that Jesus taught (as we read through the Sermon on the Mount):   "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 if 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."  My study bible tells us here that Jesus is warning against anxiety, not against thoughtful planning.  It says that our physical well-being is directly dependent on God, and only indirectly on food, drink, and clothing -- and adds that anxiety over earthly things demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care.

"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."   Jesus refers to the pagan idols of the Gentiles, indicating that because they served such, they remained consumed by dependence upon earthly things.  Those who follow God, my study bible says, can be freed from such dependence.

"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 for the day is its own trouble."  My study bible reminds us that the kingdom of God is the central theme of Jesus' teaching, and His righteousness is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus calls us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, and directs us to look to heaven.   My study bible says that we must be secure in the faith that God will provide needed earthly blessings.

I particularly love the images that Jesus gives of the beauty and splendor of the lilies of the field, and also God's care of the birds.  The "lilies of the field" one might say is a theme of this blog, as the largest picture is indeed of lilies that reproduce easily and freely (especially in the park where the photo was taken).  Jesus is so amazingly acute in His knowledge of detail of nature, and the wonder it inspires.  The colors of these lilies are indeed rich in splendor, in the most brilliant hues of orange and gold and red, that take on sunlight in a way to make them radiant.  And who has not paused to consider the birds, especially when they are plump and singing, and wonder how they are fed when they seem to have no one to care for them -- even the least of the little finches or sparrows?  Jesus emphasizes a dependency upon God and putting trust in God before all things.  This does not mean that we have no need of material things for life, and neither does Christ imply that we must never think about such things.  But, as my study bible puts it, He speaks against undue anxiety as emphasis.  It is, in my experience, a question of lifestyle.  We put our trust in God rather than our own worrying.  When Jesus tells us, "Sufficient for the day is its own trouble," He's teaching us about an attitude.  That is, an understanding that whatever we need to concern ourselves about will present itself to us, and we don't need to go stirring the pot to stir up yet more trouble for ourselves.  The word for trouble in the Greek is the same root as a word for "evil" or "wickedness."   It's translated elsewhere as "malice" and in modern Greek it literally means "bad."  So the wise advice here is not to go looking for trouble (and surely we know that in our lives trouble will find us!).  Once upon a time, I worried incessantly about a niece's wedding and what I would wear.   Her mother is a fashion plate and works in the beauty industry, and I have listened to endless criticism of the appearance of others.  I finally gave up my worry to God, and just trusted that whatever way I needed to be dressed I should trust in God.  Even if I didn't find my clothes impressive, others I had not seen in a long time seemed impressed and happy, and the occasion was surprisingly relaxed for me.  My simple experience of Christ's words was similar to what we've read all along so far in the Sermon on the Mount:  we must "let go" and trust God.  Whether we speak of past hurts, or anxieties, or the worry about storing up material goods, it's all the same.  We let go and trust God.  What remains remarkable about Christ's teachings is just how down to earth and full of worldly experience they are.  He's not giving us "pie in the sky" nor imposing impossible trials.  Sufficient to the day is its own trouble.  How much trouble would we save if we could remember these are wise words to live by!  By reminding us of the beauty of the lilies of the field, and the birds who sing as we pass by, Jesus gives us a picture of a world made in goodness, and reminds us to take a look and enjoy what God gives us.  If we can let go and trust, our lives become much simpler -- and how often do we need that reminder?