Describe what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount about being anxious.

Matthew 6:24-25 (NKJV) states as follows:

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (simultaneously or in equal measure). Therefore I say to you, do not worry (be anxious or take care) about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, not about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

In interpreting meaning behind what Jesus was saying in verse 25, many Bible theologians and commentators fail to connect verse 24 with verse 25 to add proper context. Simply put, verse 25 cannot be understood without laying the proper framework in place which Jesus did in verse 24.
In verse 24, "mammon" is not referring to money or possessions as is commonly understood; rather, "mammon" is analogous to a spirit or attitude a person might exhibit. In this case, "mammon" refers to a person's attitude toward money, possessions or anything else tangible in this physical world (i.e. natural considerations). When Jesus states, "You cannot serve God and mammon", His point is that a person's attitude toward natural considerations will determine that person's attitude toward God. If a person places any natural consideration whatsoever in importance ahead of his or her loyalty to God, such person has elected to not allow God the requisite control over his or her life that God requires for us to "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness" (See Matthew 6:33). 
"Mammon" can represent a person's job, his or her possessions, his or her investments, his or her relationships or anything that a person could value in this natural world apart from his or her relationship with God. Being loyal to God means that a person must, by comparison, forsake any ambition, pursuit or interest that compromises his or her wholehearted commitment to God. In most instances, God certainly is not asking His followers to give up everything that they possess. However, if a choice had to be made between surrendering a prized possession or obedience to God, God expects that the choice for obedience to God be made by His followers in order to demonstrate that God is first.
A prime example of having to make a deeply difficult choice between loyalty to God and mammon was when Abraham chose obedience to God over his son Isaac's very life (See Genesis 22:1-2). Because God is a loving God, He recognized not only Abraham's loyalty to Him but He also provided a better alternative so that Isaac would not have to be sacrificed. Abraham passed God's test of loyalty and God richly rewarded Abraham beyond his comprehension not the least of which was Isaac's life.
Understanding verse 24 in context permits the hearer of this passage to more fully interpret the meaning behind the words of Jesus in verse 25. Jesus does not want any believer to be "anxious" or to embrace worry. The noun form of the Greek word merimnao (worry) is used in verse 25. A way to interpret the word merimnao is to think of worry as "taking care" or "bearing burden". As believers, we are not to allow the cares, burdens or responsibilities of day-to-day life to choke out or diminish in importance our loyalty to God. As believers, loyalty to God as reflected in our faithful obedience to Him is paramount to maintaining proper perspective as we live out our lives in this natural world.
Without being loyal to God above all other considerations, we no longer are relying upon God as our provider. Instead, we are turning to this physical world to offer solutions to life's challenge. God created each of us. He takes no pleasure in any of His creation substituting His importance for something temporal. Only God and His attributes endure forever. When we as believers accept His truth and allow His truth to guide our lives, we no longer have room to be anxious or worry because we know that no matter what may happen, God always has a better alternative. Abraham had to put down anxiety and worry and trust God that regardless of the outcome, God's way is always better than man's way.


In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus enjoins his followers not to be anxious:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? . . . Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" . . . But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25-34).

There is no need to be anxious. God sent His only son to earth to release us from anxiety and from our daily worries; he wants us to live in peace and security. Food, drink, and clothing are of course essential to our lives, but we should not fret about them. There is much more to life than fulfilling our basic needs. What we need to do is "seek first God's Kingdom." In doing so, we will be putting our faith in God, freeing us from the anxiety of our daily struggles and enabling us to see that life was meant to be enjoyed. Our faith will free us from the cares of this world to concentrate on what really matters: a God-centered Christian life. Christ's message is both negative (what we should not do) and positive (what we ought to do).
https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20080529_1.htm

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