Within Christianity, the phrase of counsel “Don’t worry” has become common and easy to say—so common that, when repeated too often, it can sound like a mere formality. We can view this counsel from two sides: the giver and the recipient. From the giver’s side, advice usually comes from people who have experienced and passed through certain situations. With that experience, they have something to share with others facing similar problems. Advice becomes stronger or more convincing when the advisor who went through the event finally found a solution or way out. Thus, the counsel offered is not mere theory but an empirical experience they succeeded in overcoming.
The other side is the listener’s perspective. Several attitudes arise when someone hears advice. Some are indifferent, neglectful, or only superficially attentive. Some listen with an investigative heart and mind, truly lending their ear. Others listen well and receptively. Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” What runs through our minds right now when we read or hear this word of God? Naturally, responses vary. Some ignore it. Some read or hear it casually. Some pause to think. Others hear it and imagine what they are currently experiencing.
Every person on earth has problems. Even a newborn already has concerns—care, food, and drink—all still dependent on parents. Teenagers, young adults, adults, and older people each have their own issues. Worry is one of the most universal human experiences. Worry does not discriminate by position, wealth, success, or achievement. It attacks many corners of human life. The rich can worry, and the poor can worry even more. The wealthy worry if their assets decrease or fail to grow. The poor worry about how long they will remain poor.
Their worries are the same; the difference lies in the person—their attitude, mentality, and character. Poverty is not merely the absence of possessions but a matter of mentality. Some wealthy people have a wealthy mentality, and some rich people have a poor mentality. Conversely, some poor people have a poor mentality, but others who are poor have a wealthy mentality.
When Jesus taught, “Give us this day our daily bread,” He was offering a radically different paradigm or way of thinking: live fully in the present day without being burdened by the past or anxious about tomorrow. This simple way of thinking is actually easy, but humans complicate and overthink it. No matter how much people worry about something, they cannot evade or ignore life’s events; what they can do is face each phenomenon that comes into their lives.
The sentence “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” carries deep meaning. Let yesterday’s troubles remain yesterday’s troubles. Let today’s troubles be today’s troubles. Do not add yesterday’s trouble to today’s, let alone compound them with fear and anxiety about tomorrow. Worry is a condition of the soul under pressure. It is like water covering the nose—it leaves no room for clarity of mind. The soul becomes divided, not whole, imprisoned by past regrets and the fear of looking toward the future.
Jesus does not deny that problems are unavoidable or can be rejected. Humans must face every problem that comes into their lives. Yet always remember that we never face life’s struggles alone. Just as God accompanied Israel with a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire, so God is present with believers today. He comes in His Spirit to accompany, strengthen, and teach us so that we may become people pleasing to Him.