“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Matthew 6:25 (ESV)

Matthew 6:25-34 can be a tough passage for (aspiring) followers of Jesus, even if they themselves do not regularly worry about having enough food, drink and clothing. Do we have here an impossible, foolish and irresponsible command not to worry under any circumstance? Was Jesus against farming, making clothes and even preparing in any way for the next day? Was he an advocate of sitting back, doing nothing and relying on God to magically provide food, drink and clothing out of thin air? Did he really know hunger and poverty? Had he perhaps rebuked the hungry on a full stomach?

One might try to soften the blow of Matthew 6:25-34 by saying that the words behind it were addressed to specific people who needn’t be so anxious, that the words were said to comfort and not to rebuke, that what is in view is not normal worrying but a deep and all-consuming kind of anxiety, and that Jesus was not so much making truth claims as redirecting attention to matters pertaining to the kingdom of God.

There may be some truth to all of that. But there is in any case reason to believe we are not dealing with an absolute command against all worrying. Jesus does not say: ‘Do not worry about anything!’ and what he does say is bound up with certain conditions (e.g. “Are you not of more value than they?”). Further, one need not make sense of the passage in terms of Jesus being against sowing, harvesting crops and making clothes. Indeed, it is more plausible that he is someone for whom these activities are just not absolutely necessary. What’s more, rather than teaching his disciples to simply wait on God to drop down bread from heaven, he taught them to ask their heavenly Father for it.

The reasons put forward by Jesus in the passage against his audience being anxious about food, drink and clothing are not as particular and contextual as some might wish. It is not improbable that Jesus would, in other times and places, urge other people, particularly if they were followers of his, not to be anxious about food, clothing and drink on the same or very similar grounds.

The Matthean Jesus’s case or arguments against anxiety about food, drink and clothing among his audience is / are roughly that (1) these are not the only important things in life / not the most important things in life, (2) the audience’s heavenly Father feeds / succeeds in feeding the birds of the air (even) though they do not sow or harvest crops and since they (the audience) are more valuable than the birds there is reason to believe that He will feed them also (even) if they do not sow or harvest crops, (3) being anxious about food or drink does not add to one’s span of life, (4) God clothes / succeeds in clothing the flowers of the field (even) though they do not last long and do not make clothes for themselves and so there is reason to believe that God will clothe / succeed in clothing them (even) if they likewise do not make clothes for themselves, (5) (obsessively) seeking after food, drink and clothing is a Gentile thing to do and unbefitting to the people of God, (6) their heavenly Father knows they need food, drink and clothing, (7) if they seek first the kingdom of God, food, drink and clothing will be provided for them and (8) there is enough trouble each day to go round, no need to add to that by being anxious about the next.[1]

Now, we may not find ourselves in full agreement with the Matthean Jesus or be persuaded by all of his arguments and still be able to take the following position: Our pursuit of food, drink and clothing should not (improperly) have a sole and ultimate character and our mind should not be completely preoccupied with food, drink and clothing and getting such things, even when we are hungry, thirsty and unclothed.[2] Furthermore, there are reasons to not be entirely fearfull and anxious about our having food, drink and clothing, even if we are not directly engaged in agriculture or the making of clothes or, for that matter, have a well-paid job or money-making business, and pursue the kingdom of God above food, drink and clothing. Among these reasons are (1) the existence and production of large quantities of ‘natural’ food and drink of the sort that is freely available in nature and (2) there being a widespread willingness and ability among humans in general, and Christians not least, to provide hungry, thirsty and unclothed people with sufficient food, drink and clothing.[3]

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[1] Jesus could have appealed to God’s provision of clothing for Adam and Eve and His feeding of the Israelites in the wilderness, but did not in this passage. Such stories might nevertheless have been in his mind.

[2] This seems possible even under conditions of hunger, thirst and nakedness and even without prior preparation and training through practices of fasting and deprivation, although such practices may help one live in accordance with the view under such conditions.

[3] We may connect a number of biblical passages to these points, among them, Genesis 1:29-30, Psalm 104:10-15, Mark 10:29-30 and Matthew 25:31-46.

Adding to my blogposts “Parenting: The Goal of Right Living” and “Parenting: Teaching Daily Habits & Rituals“, this post deals with parental reading. By reading to their children parents can, among other things, positively influence their moral, intellectual, volitional and linguistic development, as well as help bring happiness and treasured memories to the lives of their children.

Children can gain understanding of how they should act in certain situations through their parents’s reading about the actions of others (human or not, fictional or not) in similar situations. Moreover, children might come to see, through stories, what the consequences are or can be of certain courses of action. Furthermore, such reading can contribute to the development and strengthening of right desires and the doing of right actions (e.g. in imitation of people read about).

Further, parental reading can expose the children to new words, ideas and information, including words, ideas and information that the children have not and will not be exposed to at school or in the context of their own private reading, watching and listening. Although reading to one’s children is closely associated with reading to young children, parental reading need not cease when the children get into their teens, or for that matter, their twenties. As the children grow older, parents can start to read more difficult books, including great works of history, philosophy and literature and can invite their children to become co-readers and/or co-choosers of the books.

Of course, how reading to one’s children will influence them and whether or not it will be for them primarily associated with happiness and interest or with frustration and boredom depends in part on the age of the children and on the books read.

This is the seventh post in a series of blogpost highlighting some of the similarities between the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospels. For this post I have made use of the ESV text of BibleWorks 9.

No Honor in the Hometown

“(For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)” John 4:44 (ESV). All four Gospels contain indications that Jesus said something along the lines of a prophet having no honor in is his hometown. See also Mark 6:4; Matthew 13:57 and Luke 4:24.

Healing on the Sabbath

“And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.” John 5:9 (ESV). All four Gospel contain a story of Jesus healing on the Sabbath. See also Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11 and Matthew 12:9-14.

Feeding the Crowd

“Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.” John 6:11 (ESV). All four Gospels contain a story about Jesus feeding a crowd with (about) five thousand men. See also Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44 and Luke 9:10-17.

Introduction

This blogpost adds to my post “Parenting: The Goal of Right Living“, in which a brief theory related to parenting was offered. Both posts may be viewed as part of a larger theory or model building effort.

Teaching Daily Habits & Rituals

Humans aren’t born eating three meals a day, getting out of bed around a certain time, putting on clean clothes every day and brushing their teeth in the morning and evening. If they do so, it is at least in large part because they have been taught to do so. A key part of raising children, at least as it is often practiced, involves teaching them daily or quasi-daily habits and rituals. This happens, at least mostly, through a partially subtle and unreflective process of instructing, (dis)approving, rewarding and punishing behavior.

Such parental teaching, if successful, structures the living of the children in a certain way. Although children can admitteldy be taught many different habits and rituals, the ones parents teach their children are not randomly taught. They are always in some way connected to the parents themselves.

Often daily habits and rituals are taught in part because of daily habits and rituals of the parents. An example of this would be parents teaching their children to go to bed at eight, in part because they themselves go to bed at ten and want to spend some time together (in peace) before they go to bed. Also, the daily habits and rituals parents teach their children are often quite similar to their own. Parents who teach their children to eat three meals a day, for example, generally themselves eat three meals a day, often at the same time and around the same table as their children. Parents may not say very often to their children: ‘Do as we do’. But they do generally, even if somewhat unreflectively, raise their children to live like they live. And in raising their children to live like them, parents also, at least normally, raise their children to live like others as well (e.g. grandparents, neighbors and compatriots).

How does all this relate to the parental goal of rightly living children? Well, not all daily habits and rituals are good and in accordance with right living in all situations. Arguably, for example, a daily habit of eating unhealthy snacks, is mostly bad and contrary to right living in the actual world (right living, of course, looks different under different conditions). If parents themselves have such a daily habit, they are arguably obligated to not teach it to their children and rather to strive to prevent their children from acquiring it (which may require attempting to break the habit), at least if it would be (completely) contrary to right living on the part of their children.

Introduction

Parenting, and especially parenting well, is a topic I am interested in. In this blogpost I offer a very brief theory related to parenting. It is perhaps not so much a statement of beliefs, although it reflects beliefs of mine, as something to work with, something which might be revised, critiqued and expanded and which is, hopefully, thoughtprovoking and helpful.

A Very Brief Theory

Parents may have and pursue all kinds of goals for their children, including goals of happiness, achievement, survival, ability, resilience, understanding and good relationships. But they do well to pursue the goal of right living as one of their chief goals for their children. Living rightly is at least a matter of (1) living (one cannot live rightly if one does not live), (2) doing right actions and not wrong actions and (3) having right desires and motivations.

Parents can help their children to live in this world by, among other things, (1) providing them with food, clothing, shelter and medical care, (2) encouraging exercise and healthy living, (3) promoting pro-social behavior, (4) striving for beneficial friendships and other relationships for their children, (5) teaching them or otherwise helping them learn skills by which they can earn, produce or find essentials for survival and (6) by helping them to recognize dangers.

Parents can help their children to do right actions and not wrong actions by (1) rewarding right actions and punishing wrong actions, (2) providing ethical instruction and advice, (3) modeling right behavior, (4) exposing their children to moral exemplars, past or present, fictional or real, (5) protecting their children against corrupting influences and (6) bringing their children into relationship with (groups of) people who also reward right actions, provide ethical advice, model right behavior, etc.

Parents can help their children to have right desires and motivations by (1) rewarding right actions and punishing wrong actions, (2) providing ethical instruction and advice, (3) mentioning right desires and motivations, (4) praising right actions, desires and motivations, (5) shielding their children from corrupting influences and (6) bringing their children into relationship with people who also do such things.

Some Issues and Remarks

The theory above is of course far from a complete theory of partenting, but it is related to parenting and does touch on many things parents actually do, perhaps somewhat unreflectively, such as providing food, clothing and shelter for their children, and relates this to a laudible parental goal, namely the right living of their children.

It seems plausible to me that right living invovles both right actions and right desires and intentions, at least if actions is meant in a narrow sense. It is left somewhat unclear above whether or not right living involves only having right desires and motivations. This is something about which I am uncertain. I am also uncertain whether or not right living entails only having true beliefs. Also, beliefs play only a very minor role in the theory above, if that at all, and it should perhaps be expanded at this point.

This is the sixth post in a series of blogposts highlighting some of the similarities between the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospels. For this post I have made use of the ESV text of BibleWorks 9.

Active in Galilee

“This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.” John 2:11 (ESV). All four Gospels indicate Jesus was active in Galilee. See Matthew 4:23; Mark 1:39 and Luke 5:17.

Driving People out of the Temple

“And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.” John 2:15 (ESV). All four Gospels indicate Jesus visited the temple in Jerusalem around the time of the Passover and drove people out of it. See Luke 19:45-46; Mark 11:15-17 and Matthew 21:12-13.

Destroy this Temple

“Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.” John 2:19-21 (ESV). In Matthew and Mark somewhat similar sayings are attributed to Jesus by (false?) witnesses at his trial (see Matthew 26:61 and Mark 14:58). Perhaps John’s Gospel gives something approximating the actual saying of Jesus and its historical context.

This is the fifth post in a series of blogposts highlighting some of the similarities between the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospels. For this post I have made use of the ESV text of BibleWorks 9.

Nazareth

“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”” John 1:45 (ESV). In all four Gospels Jesus is connected to Nazareth. See also Matthew 2:23; Mark 1:9 and Luke 2:39. The phrase “Jesus of Nazareth” is also found in Mark, Luke and Matthew.

The Son of Joseph

In three Gospels there is evidence that people believed Jesus to be the son of a man named Joseph, either in a biological or in an adoptive sense. See John 1:45, Luke 3:23 and Matthew 2:19; 13:55.

The Son of Man

“And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven openend, and the angles of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”” John 1:51 (ESV). In all four Gospels there is evidence that Jesus called himself something like the Son of Man. See also Mark 2:10-11, 14:62; Luke 9:22, 22:69 and Matthew 9:6.

This is the fourth post in a series of blogposts highlighting some of the similarities between the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospels. For this post I have made use of the ESV text of BibleWorks 9.

Jesus the Teacher

In all four Gospels Jesus is addressed as rabbi or teacher. “Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”” (John 1:38 ESV). See also Matthew 8:19, Mark 4:38 and Luke 3:12.

The Messiah

In all four Gospels there are indications that people believed Jesus to be the Messiah. “One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).” (John 1:40-41 ESV). See also Matthew 16:16, Mark 8:29 and Luke 9:20.

Simon Peter

“He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). (John 1:42 ESV). In all four Gospels there are indications that Jesus gives Simon a name meaning something like ‘the rock’. See also Matthew 16:17-18, Mark 3:16 and Luke 6:14.

One can stare at greatness and one can step towards greatness, but these are not the same things as reaching out with both hands and drawing greatness towards us. We may never be able to pull all greatness, from crowned head to sandled foot, into the present. But surely it is better to have some greatness than none at all?

Perhaps we are too weak even for that. Perhaps we are only strong enough to hold fast and hold close, close enough to gaze up at the shining face, close enough to hear him say, “Patience, child, the time has not yet come.”

At the end of this series of posts I’m going to present an account of God informed by and evidenced with the ESV text and Greek text (BGT) of Ephesians of BibleWorks 9.

Here is a sixth building block for this account which is based on Ephesians 2:8-10:

They were saved through faith by grace. Their salvation was not a result of works, but a gift of God, so that none might boast. They and Paul were God’s workmanship and were created through Christ Jesus for good works, which God had prepared in order that they might do them.