What Jesus Taught

by Osborne J. P. Widtsoe

Seek first the kingdom of God.

"Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink," taught Jesus; "Nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature.

"And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, If God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? . . . .

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

Labor and confidence hand in hand.

Now, Jesus did not mean by this splendid teaching that we should not plan for the future; nor that we should not be industrious and spin and weave and harvest. His illustrations impress the thought that we should not allow ourselves to fret over the petty worries and anxieties of life. God knows our needs before we utter them. We should rely implicitly then upon His providence, knowing that if we serve Him and do our best, He will care for us as well as for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field.

The sin of worry.

Undue anxiety may be called almost a sin. It preys upon the peace of mind and happiness of untold thousands of men and women. The most learned and efficient men in the world have devoted much of their time to the study of worry; but no one of them has found a cure for it. Many books have, however, been written advising this or that course of life to overcome the evil, and all these books possess value. But it is to be noted that the cause of worry in any man is usually something over which man has no control. Neither worry, nor any other thing that man may do, can change the nature of things. We are forced therefore to admit that the only cure for worry known to man is that presented by Jesus. His cure consists of a childlike faith and trust in the goodness of God—a trust so simple and strong that anxious care can find no place in the mind. It consists of such a confidence in the providence of God as Abraham displayed when he was commanded to offer his dearly beloved son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice. Abraham wavered not; he worried not; and God provided the sacrifice that was meet. Of course, it requires courage, patience, and persistent effort to cultivate so supreme a degree of faith. Yet, one who has it not can hardly say with truth that he has learned fully to know God. Indeed, such sublime faith alone marks the truly converted and nobly devoted soul; whereas the lack of such faith reveals a lack of fulness of trust in God—almost a disloyalty to God. One cannot in this world attain to real peace and happiness without implicit faith in God. Without it, one can not keep on keeping on in fervent prayer to God.

God knows best.

Finally, it must be remembered that another phase of this childlike trust may affect the answer to our prayers. If they remain unanswered, it may be because it is best for us so. No other man has ever suffered as did Jesus in Gethsemane. No other man has ever prayed as Jesus did there. Yet, recall the spirit of that prayer. "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will but as Thou wilt." This is the true spirit of faith-inspired prayer.