Imagine you’re holding an egg. Odd intro, I know, but go here with me for a second.

Two things will result in the egg’s destruction:
1) Not having a firm enough grip on the egg
OR
2) Having TOO FIRM a grip on the egg.

Keep that image in your mind as I lay out what happened in my heart this morning as I read Matthew 6:24-25. (Go ahead, take a few seconds here and look it up.) Now, you might say, “Hey Steve – those verses are broken up by one of those headers in your Bible. They’re different sections.” And you’d be right. And that’s exactly the point.

Headers in your Bible were not inserted by the original authors. So when you read Scripture, know that it was intended to be read or heard in one large chunk. The Gospel of Matthew is no different. Verse 24 reads:

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money (or possessions).”

Then, there’s a HEADER. The header reads “Do Not Be Anxious.” Verse 25 then begins:

“Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life…”

Did you catch it? Did you see it? The giant key word in those two verses?

THEREFORE

When you see a “therefore” ask yourself, “What’s the therefore there for?” (Tongue-twisty, I know.) And this question is exactly what fired off in my head. Then it spun this web in my heart: Jesus is saying, “Hey guys – you can’t love anything more than you love God. If you do, you’ll become incredibly ANXIOUS.” Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Hold up, Jesus.

Are you really saying that a lot of my anxiety is related to what I love more than God? Yes. This is exactly what Jesus is saying. Anything we love more than God becomes an idol. Idols produce anxiety. So let’s go back to the egg (you thought I forgot about it, didn’t you?).

Your life is like an egg. It’s valuable, maybe a little round (hey, we all need the gym), and FRAGILE. You have an idea of how your life should go, but guess what – so does your Creator. If you hold your life too loosely (as in, apathetically – not caring what happens), you’ll destroy it and those around you. But – if you put a death grip on your life, you’ll also destroy it and your heart in the process.

Here’s what it looks like when you have a death grip on your life:
1) God, I NEED to have a significant other. If I don’t, my life isn’t worth living.
2) God, I NEED to be fully healthy. If I’m not, I will have no joy.
3) God, I NEED to have this job. If I don’t, I will be poor and will have no peace.

Know what those all have in common? Anxiety. Romance, health, and jobs are all good things. But when they become non-negotiable things, we put a death grip on our lives and we take God off His throne. We no longer trust Him. The egg blows up in our hands.

Here’s what it looks like to have JUST THE RIGHT GRIP on your life:
1) God, I WOULD LOVE to have a significant other. But if I don’t, I’ll still trust You. Your will be done.
2) God, I WOULD LOVE to be fully healthy. But if I’m not, I’ll still trust You. Your will be done.
2) God, I WOULD LOVE to have this job. But if I don’t, I’ll still trust You. Your will be done.

Friends, this is the only way to true peace. God is your GOOD Heavenly Father. He desires to give you good things. But if they have become non-negotiable things, He may remove them for a time to set us free.

But here’s the good news: He loves you like crazy…and He can be trusted in the process.
SL