For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, what you will eat...nor for your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? –Mt. 6:25
The people of Jesus' day, just like all people of all time, struggled with worrying and being content. The struggle was caused partly because of poverty but also partly because of a comparison mindset. Looking around at other people's lives and observing everything we lack in comparison to them can be destructive. It can fill us with a feeling of deserving what someone else has. We feel left out, or like we are missing something important. It can make us think we do not have enough—enough money, food, clothing, etc. So then, how much is enough?
According to Jesus, if we have food and clothing, we have enough. What?! What a shockingly low standard of enough—just food and clothing. Jesus doesn't even mention having shelter! This standard makes no sense, if we are comparing our situation to other people's lives. But, if we shift our standard of comparison to Jesus, we begin to feel more and more content. We sense that we actually have much more than food and clothing. Suddenly, we feel full. We feel warm. We feel God's provision.
In a world where seemingly everyone is looking around and pining after more, we need to change our standard of comparison. We need to realize that if we have food and clothing, then we have enough. Anything beyond these two provisions is strictly overflow. Cultivating this mindset will free us from worrying about life. We will not feel like we are missing something. Instead, we will feel unimaginably blessed. We will find ourselves increasingly content. We will come to a realization that God has truly given us more than enough.
