Matthew 6:25, commentary and pictures

"Take no thought" forbids anxious, troubled, complaining care about what to eat, drink or wear, not faithful work and practical duty for self and family.
The God who gave life and the body as the greater gifts knows His children need food, drink and clothing to sustain them, and as a tender Father is able and willing to provide what is necessary.
Jesus proves this by the birds that neither sow nor reap yet are fed, and the lilies that neither toil nor spin yet are clothed, for people are of much more value and are never beyond His notice.
Believers are therefore not to serve mammon like the Gentiles nor take thought for the morrow, but to keep a single eye to God and seek first His kingdom and righteousness, trusting that these things shall be added.
The life He speaks of is the life that measures with the life of God, eternal life without sorrow or death, which is of far more consequence than this short life and makes food, drink and dress lesser matters beside preparation for eternity.

Sermon Setting and Wording

Christ spoke these words in His Sermon on the Mount, given especially to His disciples while the assembled multitude also heard. In that sermon He corrected false ideas of His kingdom and taught its true character and the conditions of entering it, rather than promising worldly greatness. Its principles describe the kingdom of divine grace rather than promising earthly glory or political restoration.

The sermon opposed the self-righteous teachings and human traditions of the scribes and Pharisees and corrected their false picture of God by revealing Him as compassionate and loving and to be known as Father. It taught the far-reaching principles of the law of God, showing that the spirit of the law must be in the heart because the state of the heart regulates life and character. It set forth the pure gospel explaining God's holy law and the holy standard of character, requiring love to God with the whole heart and love to neighbor shown in right and holy methods in business that do not unjustly gain at another's expense, do not mingle human wisdom with the divine, do not divert means from the true object for ambitious designs, and do not practice any method to please lust for gain and power, so that failure in these things proves the law has not been learned and calls for cleansing and purging of the soul temple.

Its teaching is plain and simple, accessible to people of any intellectual ability apart from learning or talent, where what matters is loving God and setting the heart on heavenly things. It could be understood by the poor and unlearned and even studied by a child without being misled, and it was spoken with heavenly authority as truth from God that gives eternal life. Those lessons are to be shown in daily life, for living them makes a deeper and more lasting impression than preaching them. Their lessons have not yet been fully learned, so life must be ordered by the truth of God as found in His word through more diligent study of the Scriptures as the truth of the living God, the foundation of faith and the assurance of hope of eternal life in the kingdom of heaven.

"Take no thought" means not to dwell in anxious, troubled, or complaining thought about what to eat, drink, or wear, placing life above food and the body above clothing and directing attention away from material cares toward eternal interests. It does not teach Christians to stop working or ignore the temporal welfare of themselves and their families, and to treat it as a command to take no thought for temporal needs and devote life wholly to spiritual things is an extreme view. Nor does it excuse neglecting practical duties, for in preparing for the Sabbath clothing and footwear should still be put in order beforehand rather than leaving the work for the Sabbath, and children should be taught that God's instructions are meant to be followed.

While doing their best, people are not to weary body and mind with the cares of this life or spoil religious experience by needless worry over things that cannot be helped, but are to trust the Lord fully to work for them and do for them what they cannot do for themselves. God's servants should give faithful service, do their best with the trust committed to them, and leave to their heavenly Father the work they cannot perform, trusting that He knows their cares and can provide others to help. Needless worrying is foolish, hinders standing in a true position before God, and refuses to recognize His guiding hand, goodness, and justice in the large and small things of life, while cherishing worry and complaint is wrong. When the Holy Spirit comes into the soul there is no desire to complain and murmur for lack of wanted things, but hearty thanks to God from a full heart for blessings received, and that thankful, trusting spirit with more thankfulness among workers prepares them for a place in the kingdom of heaven.

Human life continues only because God by His infinite power keeps people alive each minute, so no one needs to keep himself in his own hands by constantly watching and thinking about himself to stay alive. The verse therefore forbids anxious self-monitoring such as continually checking breath, heartbeat, and temperature as if life would cease without it, and calls for greater faith and more implicit trust in the heavenly Father that He will not let life cease, with improved health bringing glory to God's holy name rather than credit to self-watchfulness. Since taking thought cannot add to stature, in spiritual growth as in natural growth all depends on the Lord. Each person must grow up under God's supervision to his own individual measurement, trading with conscientious fidelity on the talents God gave him and having an individual experience in which God works in him to will and to do, instead of seeking to pattern his character after any man.

Father's Care and Provision

The God who created human life with its physical, mental and spiritual powers gave life and the body as greater gifts than food, drink and clothing, and as a tender Father He knows His children need food to sustain life and clothing to complete the body and is able and willing to provide what is necessary. Life is a holy trust to be used for His glory in faithful work, rather than leaving Him out of the reckoning through constant anxiety over what to eat, drink or wear. He who bestowed the greater gift will also bestow what is needed to make it complete.

Jesus proved this care by pointing to the birds, which sow not, reap not nor gather into barns yet are fed by the Father, and to the lilies and grass and flowers of the field, which toil not nor spin yet are clothed, showing that people are of much more value than they are. No person is beyond Christ's notice, and He does not forsake those who trust Him. God sustains all creation and the world, tenderly watches each person rich or poor at work, at prayer or at rest, cares for even small birds and brief flowers, for those made in His image, and sends sunshine, rain and ministering angels. When this is believed, trust frees from undue anxiety, lets great and small concerns be left in His hands, lets every burden be cast upon Christ, and gives rest of soul even in peril, trial, poverty and hardship. The cares of this life, toil and deprivation and fear of want for the poor and fear of loss and anxious cares for the rich, choke spiritual life when carried instead of trusted to Him, and when cares drive to the Saviour for help and comfort He carries what cannot be carried without Him.

The lilies illustrate simplicity and faith, for contemplating God's work in nature turns people from elaborate meals prepared to gratify appetite and from learning only how to eat, drink and dress, and better fits them to serve the Creator. Trusting God also leads to learning from the growth of plants and animals. The God who has given man all he has will keep him in health and strength if he complies with the condition of entire obedience to law, as nature obeys law. The verse thus reproves unbelief and forgetfulness of constant dependence on God, using birds and flowers as object lessons of divine truth to declare His wonderful works.

Needless worrying and trouble of mind over things that cannot be helped is foolish, hinders standing in a true position before God, and refuses to recognize His guiding hand, goodness and justice in the large and small things of life. Cherishing worry and complaint is wrong, and implicit faith in God makes worry and anxiety unnecessary. When the Holy Spirit comes into the soul there is no desire to complain and murmur for lack of wants, but hearty thanks to God from a full heart for blessings received, and that thankful, trusting spirit prepares workers for a place in the kingdom of heaven, without which they are unprepared.

Kingdom First Over Wealth

The command not to be anxious about what to eat or drink or wear stands directly after the teaching that the eye must be single so the body is full of light and that no one can serve both God and mammon. Believers are therefore not to seek provision like the Gentiles nor to take thought for the morrow, but to keep a single eye to God instead of serving mammon and to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, trusting that food, drink, and clothing will be added. Serving God rather than wealth means not being anxious about these things, for life is more than food and the body more than clothing, worry cannot add to stature, and material needs must not eclipse eternal interests or God's service. Taking no thought means not being anxious, not that outward appearance gives character its worth, and it calls for simple living that eats merely to satisfy hunger rather than to gratify taste.

It belongs to the teaching about laying up treasure in heaven rather than on earth where moth and rust corrupt and thieves break through and steal, showing that where treasure is the heart will be also. It exposes the dangers and unbelief of the present time in laying up earthly treasure and calls for walking by faith instead of worrying over material needs. Laying up heavenly treasure is done by giving means freely to sustain God's cause as His almoners instead of fearing calls to give or hoarding earthly treasure. The verse warns against anxious attachment to material needs in choosing between serving God and serving wealth. It turns attention from material concerns to the need for Christ's righteousness, for Christ takes away sin and covers people with His righteousness.

This trust in God's care supports placing heavenly treasure and service to God above material wealth, so people may give to His work without being ruled by fear over their needs. The promise of the Father's care applies even amid poverty and hardship, for Christ knows such difficulties, calls people to believe in His love and follow Him, and provides for those in need through people who have means. Believers must guard against having more anxiety than faith about means and provision, and when the time to advance has fully come they must advance, denying self to supply what is needed and trusting God rather than holding back from worry over money. The verse and its context rebuke the determination to be rich and the striving for place and position and for honor and recognition.

It teaches contentment and yielding the will to the control of the Holy Spirit. It forbids elbowing fellow workers aside to make room for personal plans, and directs ambition to honoring Christ at every step by obedience to the word of truth, making the greatest desire to work in just the place God has assigned where He can look with approval. Christ's commission in the verse means no one lives to himself and allows no excuse for neglecting God-given responsibilities and study of the Word, not lack of time, not children taking time, not busy domestic duties. Trust in the heavenly Father's knowledge and care for these needs frees believers to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Eternal Life Above Temporal

The life in view is the life that measures with the life of God, eternal life forevermore in the kingdom of glory, without sorrow, without pain, without sickness, without distress, and without death. It is the better, spiritual life, received through faith in Christ as personal Saviour who made an infinite sacrifice to give it, and it is of more consequence than this short life. It is therefore to be sought with far greater carefulness and earnestness than unnecessary preparations for this life, with more invested in the enterprise of everlasting life than in the things of this short life, for to be engaged almost wholly in preparation for this life loses the opportunity to gain eternal life and gathering treasures on earth is only a snare. Those who have Christ may die, but they will rise when the Lifegiver comes, for character does not change in the grave though mortal bodies will be changed. Since earthly possessions cannot be carried into the grave, Christ and the hope of immortality are worth more than worldly security, position, or that which is not bread, so laboring and fretting for perishable meat is misplaced.

Life and the body matter more than food, clothing and embellishments, so concern for material necessities must not rule the heart, absorb the mind, or displace preparation for eternal life. To make eating, drinking and dressing the great absorbing concern is to focus on earthly things, to fill the mind with them to the exclusion of the religion of God's word, leaving a person unprepared for Christ's judgment and separated from Him. It is a serious mistake to let thoughts rest more on worldly matters than on the great duty of serving God with humility and prayer, and families who do so need decided change to learn what to do to be saved. Food, drink and clothing are necessary but must receive only their proper share of attention and must not become so important that care for the soul is made secondary. Anxious preoccupation with them reflects love of self and the world, crowds out humble prayerful service and concern for salvation, and when eternity drops out of reckoning whole days are spent educating self in how to eat, drink and dress.

These are lesser matters beside the eternal interests to be considered, being purified and ready to share His throne. The call is to walk and act with reference to the future life, to keep eternity in view, to bring happiness into homes here in this life, and instead of remaining busy, anxious and stirred up, to care for the interest of the soul and for health. A person's moral and spiritual worth is greater than physical provision, and the highest value of life and body is the possibility of redemption and eternal life. Gaining the whole world profits nothing if the soul is lost and nothing can compensate or be given in exchange for the soul, so the verse does not release men from responsibility but calls for earnest, noble striving to work out salvation with fear and trembling in cooperation with God who works in the will and the doing.

The verse calls for hanging hopes upon Jesus, looking up, making Him the center of hopes and affections and the trust, maintaining a close, humble walk, walking tremblingly and carefully before Him and fearing to move without His counsel, being true to one's own soul and true to God, and accepting self-denial including taking a stand for Bible truth and the Sabbath rather than forsaking Him for the world. Those who do this receive His blessing, prosperity in all they set their hand to, His encircling love, and the ministry of guarding angels, and are safe whether they live or die. Those who neglect duty to God, cease to walk humbly before Him, turn the heart from God and forget Him cannot expect prosperity, health or peace, because all that is good comes from above and happiness is not gained by looking to the earth alone, which brings miserable disappointment. Heavenly attractions and grace are greater than earthly blessings, and a meek and quiet spirit with the inward meekness and righteousness of Christ is more valuable in God's sight than outward adornment or any advantage gained by decorating the body, preparing for immortality. Natural beauty seen in a simple flower surpasses efforts at display, and simplicity is better than costly outward show without heavenly character.

Health Temperance and Simplicity

Life is greater than food and the body greater than clothing, so bodily health bought at infinite cost must be carefully guarded, and a sound mind in a sound body matters more than adornment, elaborate meals and gratifications like spices, pickles, condiments, alcohol and desserts, while injurious fashions of a degenerate age are not to be followed when they harm the body and much time and thought given to dress neglects the soul's highest interests. Constant taxing brain labor must not be imposed upon the human organism, for mind and heart, brain, bone and muscle are all to be used, with physical labor and change of work relieving the brain and preserving life and health for earnest useful work and duties of goodness, mercy and love even when that requires moving to a new place. Straining mortal bodies to gain education or accomplish work can destroy usefulness and bring premature death, so health which is more than clothing requires balancing mental and physical labor.

Anxious care about what to eat or drink or wear is forbidden, and simple living is required, eating merely to satisfy hunger and not to gratify taste. Intemperate overeating burdens the stomach and overworks digestive organs made to digest food not to be loaded down, clouding the mind, leaving no freedom in prayer, and bringing disease and sudden death. Asking what to eat and drink can show appetite ruling the mind. Pursuing such gratifications can consume time needed for Bible reading, service to God and helping others learn of Jesus. Choosing simple foods avoids making slaves in the home where many mothers are worn out by slavery of cooking.

Elaborate fashionable table arrangements and excessive cooking labor must not be valued above the cook's life and health, for simpler preparation can protect health and preserve lives. Undue time and strength in planning what to eat and wear must not take time from educating and training children, though healthful food and cleanliness are not to be neglected and food should be kept simple and clothing neat. Attention to food, drink and clothing is less essential than what should guide life, and a simple honest way of living can teach this by example. Care for the body's real condition matters more than outward appearance, so preserving health outweighs fine dress, a fashionable figure, a delicate-looking hand, spotless floors, polished appearances or perfect clothing, and some dirt and worn clothing are preferable to losing health, time for reading and recreation, or a sound mind, though cleanliness should not be sacrificed merely for display.

Making eating, drinking and dressing paramount turns them into sinful indulgences when pursued to excess, wasting God-given time, money and strength, weakening vitality and health, hindering service to God and others, and bringing suffering and decay so that a damaged body cannot be presented as a living sacrifice. Such excess is a marked sin of the last days and a sign of Christ's soon coming. Following Jesus in these teachings means resisting conformity to worldly practices in eating, drinking and dressing and living as a holy distinct people, using God's provisions with discretion in true temperance. Those who fear even simple healthful food may harm them should eat according to best judgment, ask God to bless the food to strengthen the body, trust He hears, and be at rest. The greater worth of the body over clothing supports caring for it through healthful habits including suitable diet.

Dress Modesty and Faithful Duty

The mind is not to be absorbed in earthly needs or outward dress, for life is greater than food and the body greater than clothing, and this warning applies in every age and calls for restraint in the care given to clothing so that room is left to seek inward beauty and character rather than outward display. There is no time now for anxious thought about what to eat and drink and what to wear, but people are to live simply and work in simplicity, trusting God and giving themselves to His service. Dress is to be modest and becoming so as to be received wherever one goes, for jewelry and expensive dress give no lasting influence, while power with God comes from the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. That spirit results from devotion to the service of Christ, with kindness and forethought for others that are precious in the sight of heaven, and it must be gained now because there is no time to lose.

Where treasure is the heart will be also, for treasure is to be laid up in heaven rather than on earth, and this frees parents from scolding and fretting at children and from harsh punishment in anger. Parents are to act in God's place to do His mind and will in every particular and to bring up their children in habits of strict temperance. Freedom from consuming anxiety over food, drink, and clothing does not mean neglecting practical duties, for in preparing for the Sabbath clothing and footwear should be put in order beforehand rather than leaving the work for the Sabbath, and children should be taught that God's instructions are meant to be followed.

Concern for food, drink, and clothing must not occupy the mind more than serving God with humility and prayer, for preoccupation with eating, drinking, and dressing to the exclusion of religion crowds out humble prayerful service and concern for salvation. It is a serious mistake to let thoughts rest more on worldly matters than on the great duty of serving God, and many families need decided change to learn what to do to be saved. When they inquire diligently for the way of life, God gives understanding of His word and teaches the true worth of eternal things, and then valuing eternal things rightly frees the heart so it no longer reaches out covetously for worldly benefits and the pleasures of this life. Obedience to this word, which forbids anxious and complaining thought about life, what to eat or drink, and the body, what to put on, must be rendered in order to enter eternal life. Since life is more than food and the body more than clothing, the health of the body purchased by Christ at infinite cost is to be carefully guarded, harmful fashions of this degenerate age are not to be followed when they injure the body, and He who died for human beings reproves giving much time and thought to dress to the neglect of the soul's highest interests.