“Stop Being Anxious”

 Jesus was in Galilee, speaking to a large crowd of people from many places. (Matthew 4:25) Few if any of those people were wealthy. Likely, most were poor. Yet, Jesus urged them to give priority, not to the gaining of material wealth, but to the storing up of something far more valuable—spiritual treasure. (Matthew 6:19-21, 24) 

He said: “Stop being anxious about your souls as to what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your bodies as to what you will wear. Does not the soul mean more than food and the body than clothing?”—Matthew 6:25.
 
 To many of those listening, Jesus’ words might have sounded impractical. They knew that if they did not work hard, their families would suffer. However, Jesus reminded them about the birds. Birds live from one day to the next, yet Jehovah cares for them. Jesus also pointed to the way Jehovah provides for wildflowers, the beauty of which surpasses that of Solomon in all his glory. If Jehovah cares for birds and flowers, how much more so will he care for us? (Matthew 6:26-30)

As Jesus said, our lives (souls) and bodies are far more important than the food we buy to sustain our lives and the clothing we obtain to cover our bodies. If we devote all our efforts merely to feed and cover ourselves, with nothing substantial left for serving Jehovah, we miss the very purpose of living.—Ecclesiastes 12:13.