Hungry in the Desert - Part Three

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:25-34 [ESV]

I couldn’t write about Matthew’s thoughts on hunger and overlook this passage. In these verses, Jesus unpacks for us one of the major stumbling blocks we face when hungering and thirsting after righteousness: fear or anxiety.

But this section begins with the word “therefore”, which directs our thoughts back to the previous verses. Earlier in the chapter, the focus on Jesus’ teaching was on the practice of spiritual disciplines, or the “practicing of righteousness” (6:1). The first thing he says is “when you give…”, and then “when you pray…” and thirdly “when you fast…” (Notice it is “when”, not “if”. Even for fasting). The goal of these practices is not to accumulate wealth on earth, which is vulnerable, but to store up treasure in heaven, which is secure. After instructing his followers in the three “practices of righteousness”, Jesus concludes each with the promise “And your Father in heaven who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:4, 6, 18) So the challenge Jesus issues just prior to our passage is clear: “You cannot serve God and money”.

Anxiety (“μεριμνατε”) comes from the root phrase μεριζειν τον νουν (“dividing the mind”). Many of the older commentaries focussed on the question, “what does this mean about planning for your life?” This is an important question, and the simple answer is that this passage does not preclude planning or ambition, it addresses worry or anxiety.

Anxiety is the result when you try to control or manage things beyond your power. In ministry, this is the world I live in constantly. There is no way that I can control who gives money to support us. I cannot control who or how many will respond to the gospel. I have no power over students to make them grow in their faith, to make them turn up to meetings or Bible studies. Anxiety is a constant threat in ministry. I can try to compensate by over-controlling other areas of my life, or imagining situations where I am powerful and in control. But becoming a control-freak or imagining a fantasy life is not pursuing righteousness. They lead me into the desert - a wasteland of broken relationships, half-baked ideas, distractions and self-indulgence. The answer is not fantasy but faith.

Faith is the only responsible response because it is responding to the reality of the one who really has all the power and who really is in control. Jesus provides three reasons for placing my trust in God.

Firstly, he is the one who gave me life and who made my body (v.25). His power was not exhausted by the act of creation. His power is limitless. His love is boundless. Surely the God who gave me these greater things, my life and body, will also provide me with the lesser things to accompany them - food, drink and clothing. It reminds me of one of my favourite verses, Romans 8:32, where Paul talks about sanctification following justification,

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

We have not exhausted our Father’s generosity, his grace. Just as he gave us life, he wants to provide food, drink and clothes for us. Just as he has saved us, he wants to make us righteous, mature, godly, competent fellow-workers in his kingdom.

Secondly, Jesus compares our situation with the seemingly ridiculous situation of the birds and the flowers (v.26, 28-30). I am fascinated by the behaviour and beauty of the birdlife in Sydney. It is so diverse. The sounds, the colours, the quirks of so many different species just grab my attention. Just yesterday I was walking through the bushland behind our place and saw a sulphur crested cockatoo poking its head out of its nest in a hole in a gum tree about 40’ off the ground while others from the flock circled around squawking raucously. And as I get older, I am gaining appreciation for the aesthetic beauty of flowers in the garden. I even planted bulbs! Jesus says that these displays are the result of God’s providential activity. And we are worth more to God than these lesser creations.

Thirdly, worry is unproductive because we are powerless to make significant changes anyway (v.27). We cannot make ourselves taller. We cannot delay death for a day. I wrote back in part one that we use our (God-given) creativity and capability to mask our true dependence on God. As soon as I wrote that we cannot delay death a day my mind started arguing with the statement. What about healthy living? Regular exercise? Modest diet? Life support? But these are trivialities compared the great overarching truth that we do not determine our birth or our death. Those control points should, like wandering through a spiritual desert, remind us of our constant dependence on God.

But in our Western society we have isolated ourselves from those control points. Once upon a time, a whole family lived under the same roof and went through all of the stages of life together. Children were birthed in the family home, not some sterile maternity ward. Grandparents grew frail and forgetful amidst the hustle and bustle of family life, not in some retirement village or nursing home. Children grew up seeing birth and death regularly. Most of the young adults I know have never seen a dead body or had anyone close to them pass away. We have lost the accompaniment to the rhythm of life. We become soloists rather than members of a full orchestra. We depend totally on our own skill for the end result. Yet the Psalmist is able to write:

"O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!
Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
[Psalm 39:4-6]

To fail to trust God, to choose instead to anxiously pursue our own power and control, is to act like the Gentiles – those who do not know God. In other words, we may say we are following Jesus but in practice we are living like atheists. The life of faith requires faith, not just a commitment to an alternative lifestyle. Faith may be lived out in the alternative lifestyle (i.e. support-raising may be done as an expression of faith in God, or by following a system that “works”) or it may not. It may be lived out in the mainstream lifestyle (e.g. employment), or it may not. Only an atheist would deny that God is the source of their ability (mental, physical, etc.) and opportunity to earn money through their occupation. Yet as followers of Jesus it is all too easy in our materialistic, humanistic culture to attribute any success we have to our own capability and creativity, and to ignore God.

A friend of mine shared recently that a new role he had at work was beyond his ability to perform or to meet the expectations placed on him. He confessed that he was praying for God to enable him to do what he needed to do. I have had a similar experience as I have taken on new roles in ministry over the years. Initially it is very easy to feel inexperienced, lacking capability and to express dependence on God. But when the competence and experience comes, then my awareness of my dependence on God also waned.

Still, Jesus is commanding us to be single minded in our pursuit of the kingdom of God and his righteousness, not dividing our attention between God and money. Our divided mind comes when we fail to acknowledge reality, when our beliefs fail to lead us to faith.

What are we to believe?
Firstly, that the God who created us – gave us a body and life – values us sufficiently to provide everything else we need.
Secondly, we are powerless to control so many of the outcomes we become anxious about.
Thirdly, that God the Father knows everything we need, and is committed to providing it.
Do you accept these points as true? Do they frame the foundation of your life? How do they affect the way you live? How do they affect your prayer life? How do they affect your ideas about your career?

As the nation of Israel stood on the verge of entering the Promised Land, God renewed his covenant with them. He began by reminding them of their journey out of Egypt and said,

I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the LORD your God… Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.
[Deuteronomy 29:5-6, 9]

When we think about God promising to provide for our food, drink and clothing in Matthew’s gospel, how can we not recall his amazing provision for Israel during their 40 years of wandering. His purpose was to shape them into his covenant people, a people who would know him, follow him, be blessed by him and be a light to the world. The example of the Israelites should be both an encouragement and a warning to us. Do not be anxious or have a divided mind. Instead, pursue God’s kingdom and his righteousness.