SuperLutheran

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

This is the third time Christ condemns sinful anxiety and tells us to not be anxious. We must remember though that just before His discussion on anxiety, He told us we cannot serve two masters - namely we cannot serve both God and money. Connecting the two topics, we understand that Jesus is saying anxiety is a grave source of sin. Yes the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil (1 Timothy 6:10), but it draws from the soil of worry.

But whence comes the worry? We might point to a lack of something; not having food might make us feel anxious about things. That is true, but the bigger cause of sinful anxiety is pressure from the future. When someone says they are mortified by the bills they have to pay, they mean that their water and electric bills and rent and insurance all threaten the future. If someone doesn't pay them, then these services will be cut off and life will be harder.

Jesus tells us specifically to not worry about "tomorrow," and by that of course He means the future. But why shouldn't we? We rightly presuppose that we have a future, and the pressures we feel threaten to make that future unpleasant or even torturous. Why not feel a sense of urgency and anxiety over it?

Think back to the Beatitudes: Jesus is addressing people who would be blessed by believing in Him. If someone wants to be His disciple, then this is how His disciples act and think about things. And what does Jesus offer those who trust in Him? Eternal life - the best possible future, guaranteed by His blood shed for you. And if that is the case, then tomorrow's troubles are not worth worrying about.

What concern is a little bit of pain tomorrow after ten millions years in Paradise? Just how bad is a high electric bill when you are promised an eternity of not needing electricity? If we think about eternal life and the good things to come, all of those problems become a lot smaller: this is how Christ wants us to think, because He wants us to assume we have that eternal life already by faith in Him.

Let us not misunderstand our Savior though. He does say that each day has its own trouble. We should still pay our bills, do our chores, heat our homes, etc. After all, we made agreements with the service providers to pray for their services, food isn't free, etc. Christians must be reliable people who do what they say they'll do. This also includes a nod to the future: though I do not worry about it, I still ought to follow the Biblical directives to lay up an inheritance for my children as best I can, prepare for bad things that might happen, and maintain my stuff for the good of tomorrow. But I must not fear nor worry about these things while I do so, and my concerns ought to be predominantly in the *present.* Thus sinful anxiety is lessened, if not done away with entirely - and with it other temptations are lessened as well.