Do Not! (Session 8)
Do Not Worry
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34
Episode Summary
In Matthew 6, Jesus follows his teaching about money and earthly treasures with a powerful command: “Do not worry.” But what does Jesus mean when he tells us not to worry about food, clothing, and the necessities of life? In this session, we explore Jesus’ teaching on anxiety, worry, and God’s provision, discovering that “do not worry” is not a cold command to ignore our emotions or pretend that life is easy. Instead, it is a relational invitation to trust a God who knows our needs and cares deeply about us. Like a parent comforting a frightened child, God invites us to cast our cares upon him because we are his personal concern.
We also consider why anxiety is not itself a sin, using Jesus’ anguish in Gethsemane as a powerful example of faithful engagement with fear and suffering. Jesus does not deny his anxiety; he brings it honestly to God. As we seek first the kingdom of God, we are invited to release the burdens created by consumerism, comparison, work, wealth, and the fear-driven systems of empire. Matthew 6 reminds us that God’s kingdom is not built on fear but on liberation, trust, provision, and relationship with God.
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