Our Lord Jesus teaches us in Mat 6:34 to not worry about tomorrow, regarding matters of food, drink and clothing. We know He is referring to physical things because He says, “Pagans run after these things…” – vs 32a. He adds, “Tomorrow will take care of itself.” – vs 34b. Other versions read, “The morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.” (KJV), “Tomorrow will worry about itself” (NASB), “Tomorrow will be anxious for itself” (ESV) and “Tomorrow will bring its own worries.” (NLT). I prefer the first one: “Tomorrow will take care of itself.” (NIV).
Tomorrow is the Result of How We Live Today
There’s no point in worrying about tomorrow because we only have today (tomorrow is out of reach) and it is a futile exercise to worry about what is out of our control. Jesus tells us that we cannot add a single hour to our life by worrying. – Mat 6:27. This means we cannot have more time to complete unfinished assignments. So instead of worrying, we must use the time we have been given to our advantage.
How do we do this? The Word of the Lord gives us knowledge of God’s ways (wisdom) to live each day well and thus ensure that our tomorrows will be well. The Lord explains how to live free of worry in the next verses: “Do not judge or you too will be judged.” – Mat 7:1. How is worrying related to judging? The only other place where we find a similar scripture is in Luke 6:37 where He says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.” Dr. Luke offers a different perspective which we will consider as we go on. The perspective of being judged (for judging) is presented only here.
The Main Reason We Worry
We worry about tomorrow because we judge God and others with respect to receiving help with the things we need. We judge God’s ability to provide and others’ willingness or ability to help us as well. Jesus already said in verse 32b that the Father already knows that you need the things you worry about.
The Lord says, “We too will be judged in the same measure we judge others. Because we look at the speck of sawdust in our brother’s eye while paying no attention to the plank in our own eye.” – Mat 7:2-3. What does this mean? We are used to judging others with far greater anomalies and inadequacies than we attribute to ourselves. In other words, we are blind to our faults but exaggerate others’ faults. As a result, we become paranoid with psychotic fear and worry over everything. We may ask, “But what if our judgment is right about others? Are we not supposed to be cautious in our expectations of others?” Note that the Lord says there is only a speck in the other’s eye. What does this mean? How can it be that there is only a speck? What about all the evil they do from time-to-time?
This is exactly why Jesus admonishes the crowd in John 7:24 saying, “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” We judge people outwardly without knowing their hearts. We do the same thing with God. Then we judge them by their past. But people learn and grow and yet, we do not even consider that many years have gone by. I came upon a neat saying on the internet which read:
Another one said:
So there are many reasons why there is a plank in our eyes—primarily we are overcome by our fear and ignorance that blinds us. We read in Prov 19:3 – “One’s own folly leads to ruin, yet the heart rages against the LORD.” We fear what we do not know—we fail to know God and so we judge Him. We fail to know others—so we judge them. We do not properly judge the ability and power of God to make the impossible possible. We also do not trust in God’s ability to make people more favorably disposed towards us.
Scripture says in 2 Chr 36:22, “The LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing.” Cyrus was an unbeliever, yet God was able to move his heart to perform His will. Amen. This is no wonder considering Prov 21:1 which reads, “In the LORD’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.”
What must we do? We must know God and learn to trust Him for who He says He is. He promises to help us—never leave us nor forsake us. The only reason we doubt is because we do not spend time getting to know God and walking in trust in our daily lives. As we journey with Him, we will gain greater knowledge of our unchangeable, unmovable, unstoppable Jesus who assures us in Mat 5:18 that not even the least stroke of a pen will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. He is the Key In-charge of His Non-negotiable Government (KING)—so we can be certain that God will perform His Word with due diligence—we just need to reciprocate with the same intensity of courage and trust in God. In fact, we can go one step ahead like Peter and delight the Lord—for the Lord was blessed with Peter’s response to His question (“Who do you say I am?”; Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”) that revealed that he heard God’s voice and our Lord gave him the keys to bind and loose. – Mat 16:16 Amen.
Take the Plank Out
The other aspect is that God requires that we take out the plank from our eyes. This means that we must get rid of our insecurities and inadequacies so that we will then be able to help others. So long as we are insecure in God and in the love others have for us, we will not be able to help them. We are entangled in our mess, so that we cannot help untangle others. This process of untangling happens easily as we surrender our lives each day to obeying scripture and pleasing God. We seek God’s strength in prayer and doing His will. Soon we will feel like the head and not the tail. We will feel different as we draw closer to the Lord in ardent worship and prayerful obedience. We must seek God’s help to untangle us each day so that we can then become FREE men and women who can focus on building others. Amen.
God Judges Us for Judging Others
The problem with not being able to become free and judging others is that—we invite God’s judgment on ourselves every time we judge God and others. When we are not free, we must seek to be free before we try to help others.
Does this mean that we are not to consider others and be cautious when we are not yet free? Of course, we do need to be discerning because the Bible requires us to have a discerning heart. Prov 10:13 – “Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.” We must gain a discerning heart like Joseph whom Pharaoh commended saying, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” – Gen 41:39-40.
Restrict your interactions with others in your formative years as apostle Paul did. When he was first saved, he spent seventeen years learning from the Lord in isolation before preaching and becoming a part of the church of God. We need sharpened discernment before joining a church or we may be misguided and misled by ungodly men and women who have no clear understanding but believe they have all the knowledge they need to help others. Judgment is coming on such who mislead others either knowingly or unknowingly. God has given us His Spirit and He is the best teacher and guide of all: “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.” – 1 John 2:26-27.
It may also happen that the church has a good leadership but because we are not discerning (or free), we judge them as evil—then, we too will be judged as evil. Why so? We are not supposed to judge others when we ourselves have no sense of right and wrong. Surely the blind cannot lead the blind. – Luke 6:39. Doing so is detrimental to you and to those you minister to. We already discussed in this blog how correction must only be offered in the light of God’s wisdom and guidance and not on our own. So test the spirits of people and ask the Lord to give you a discerning heart as Solomon prayed and sought discernment as the real treasure over other things. Prov 14:6b: “…knowledge comes easily to the discerning.”
When will we be judged by the same measure we judge others?
When we have the plank in our eyes and are blind to our faults. A plank or beam as we know is big and unwieldy in the eye. A speck of sawdust or mote though small can still cause vision to become blurred. The impurity can irritate the cornea and make our eyes watery, thus obscuring vision. So both the plank and speck of dust obstruct clear vision. When both the plank and sawdust are removed, both will be relieved and experience the JOYS of seeing clearly.
The key is to first rid ourselves of our insecurities so that we can discern without error. We can serve God only when we discern properly. Amen. This is why Jesus requires that we remove the plank out of our eyes. We will then KNOW the truth and the truth will set us free. Amen.
Luke’s Gospel Gives Understanding on Loving the Unlovable
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” – Luke 6:37-38
The Lord teaches about loving even our enemies and those who do not love us or do good to us. – Luke 6:27-35. He desires that we be merciful towards them. – Luke 6:36. We are not to judge them because they are as they are by the will of the Father. But if we choose to forgive them and give abundantly to them, the Father will ensure that a good measure is returned to you. What a promise! And the greater the measure you use to give, so will it be measured to you…even better! So we must be eager to help even our enemies because the Father is pleased with our well-doing and will reward us (6:35b) for helping raise His sons and daughters. Amen.
We must take heed though that “Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD—how much more do human hearts!” – Prov 15:11. God tests our hearts for our motives. “People may think all their ways are pure, but motives are weighed by the LORD.” – Prov 16:2.
Summary
We can be free of worry as we learn to be Christ like in loving God and each other deeply from the heart. This is the cure for worry. As we learn to trust and seek God to make us like Him, we will be right in judging others so that they can receive the help they need.