Daily Bread 2010 - Luke 12
Daily Bread 2010 – Luke 12
Do Not Worry
22Then 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. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27"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. 28If 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! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell 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. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
A few years ago a song came out that was wildly popular by Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” In fact, it won song of the year, at the 1989 Grammy’s for “Song of the Year”. Maybe you didn’t know it but the song was sung “a cappella”, there were no instruments at all. The phrase “Don’t Worry Be Happy”, is actually credited to Indian sage and mystic Meher Baha (1894 – 1969), who communicated this saying to his followers in the West.
Would this saying be consistent with the bible’s philosophy? Certainly we see in this passage the bible agrees with the “not worry” part. But can we just “be happy”? The other part of not worrying in Jesus’ words is to “Seek First the Kingdom. In Matthew 6:33, in a similar passage, Jesus concludes, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Happiness comes as we learn about God’s love for us (our identity) and as we live out our calling (purpose) to bring in God’s kingdom. Purpose comes as we see meaning in our lives and contribute to making the world a better place and also helping others to find ultimate meaning in their relationship with God.
As we also read in this chapter, happiness is not about building bigger barns to store more and more “stuff”. The bible says to just store up things on earth is foolish because one day our lives will over, and what will be of worth then will not be how much we have accumulated, but how much we have given away.
So then happiness doesn’t come from just “not worrying”, but may be one might say “worrying about the right things”. It makes no sense to worry about things we can’t control, but we can worry about things that we know will last forever. That is a wise thing to “worry” about. As we give ourselves to things in God’s kingdom, we can be at peace knowing that when our life ends, or God chooses to come back, we are ready to meet Him.
What do you worry about? Is it about the things you can control, like your time, energy and what you choose to invest in? Or about things that ultimately you have no control over? It seems to me if we get this one right, we are in a lot better position to not worry and be happy.
Prayer: God help us to trust you for the things we have no control over and seek first Your Kingdom with the things we do have control over. We know you will give us what we need when we change what we want. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Do Not Worry
22Then 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. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27"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. 28If 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! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell 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. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
A few years ago a song came out that was wildly popular by Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” In fact, it won song of the year, at the 1989 Grammy’s for “Song of the Year”. Maybe you didn’t know it but the song was sung “a cappella”, there were no instruments at all. The phrase “Don’t Worry Be Happy”, is actually credited to Indian sage and mystic Meher Baha (1894 – 1969), who communicated this saying to his followers in the West.
Would this saying be consistent with the bible’s philosophy? Certainly we see in this passage the bible agrees with the “not worry” part. But can we just “be happy”? The other part of not worrying in Jesus’ words is to “Seek First the Kingdom. In Matthew 6:33, in a similar passage, Jesus concludes, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Happiness comes as we learn about God’s love for us (our identity) and as we live out our calling (purpose) to bring in God’s kingdom. Purpose comes as we see meaning in our lives and contribute to making the world a better place and also helping others to find ultimate meaning in their relationship with God.
As we also read in this chapter, happiness is not about building bigger barns to store more and more “stuff”. The bible says to just store up things on earth is foolish because one day our lives will over, and what will be of worth then will not be how much we have accumulated, but how much we have given away.
So then happiness doesn’t come from just “not worrying”, but may be one might say “worrying about the right things”. It makes no sense to worry about things we can’t control, but we can worry about things that we know will last forever. That is a wise thing to “worry” about. As we give ourselves to things in God’s kingdom, we can be at peace knowing that when our life ends, or God chooses to come back, we are ready to meet Him.
What do you worry about? Is it about the things you can control, like your time, energy and what you choose to invest in? Or about things that ultimately you have no control over? It seems to me if we get this one right, we are in a lot better position to not worry and be happy.
Prayer: God help us to trust you for the things we have no control over and seek first Your Kingdom with the things we do have control over. We know you will give us what we need when we change what we want. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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