Focus on What Lasts
"And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are."
- Matthew 6:28–29
We live in a culture that is obsessed with appearance. We will be so concerned about what we are going to wear. Is this in style? Does this look good? Do I look fat in this? And we have taken this obsession to the point of changing our bodies with plastic surgery, spending billions of dollars on it each year.
Yet Jesus said, 'And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. . . . These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs" (Matthew 6:28–29, 32).
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Flowers don't worry. Why should you? Even Solomon in his royal robes, surrounded by his lavish furniture encrusted in gold, was not as beautiful as a simple flower. The Bible is not saying we should not be attractive. But it is saying we should not be obsessed with our looks. Frankly, some people ought to think a little bit more about their looks. There is a place for that too. We can go too far either way.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to look good. But if that becomes more important to you than your spiritual life, if you spend all of your time on the outward and completely neglect the inward, then your life is out of balance.
One day, this body will be gone, but the soul will live forever. As Erma Bombeck once pointed out, 'Sooner or later, dust wins." Our souls-the real you and the real me-will live on forever. So if this greater thing is in God's control, then we can leave the lesser things to Him as well.
