Luke 12:25-28 25And which of you by worrying can add length to his lifespan? 26If then you are not able to do a trivial thing like that, why do you worry about the rest? 27Consider the lilies how they grow; they neither labor nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive today in the field, but tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more for you, O you of little faith!
Anxiety does no good for us but only adds stress and takes our focus off more important matters. Jesus makes that point clear with his rhetorical question in verse 25. Single hour is literally a “cubit,” which is about eighteen inches. It is used figuratively here for adding additional time length to a person’s life. Scientists have shown that stress actually shortens a person’s lifespan. The natural inclination when facing a difficult situation is to worry. We worry because we believe we will have trouble navigating the problem.
However, deep down and perhaps even unconsciously, there may be the long that our life will be harmed or even shortened by the obstacle in front of us. Since Jesus is particularly talking about the essentials of life–food and clothing–ideas of survival make this point even clearer. A cubit was a relatively small measurement, perhaps the length of an arm, what one can reach. The question in verse 26 could be paraphrased, why worry about things beyond your reach? You have no control over these things. What we can deal with within our reach is learning to trust in God.
Jesus gives another illustration to his rhetorical questions. We can imagine him pointing to the beautiful flowers out in the fields. The exact species of flower is not known from the exact Greek word, but many wild flowers bloom in the early spring. They have all they need to survive and thrive. God gives the rain and sunshine so the flowers can grow. In the original Aramaic that Jesus spoke, labor and spin were a play on words that sound similar (hamal and hazal). The clear application is that God cares for even the smallest parts of creation and makes them beautiful. Solomon’s splendor and wealth were well known among the Jews (see 1 Kings 10). Israel reached its peak of power and wealth under Solomon.
God cares for even the plentiful grass of the fields and provides all it needs to grow and thrive. Grass was the primary fuel in Israel because of the scarcity of wood. The a fortiori style of argumentation becomes even clearer. If God cares for these small little parts of nature, he will surely take care of his beloved children. Our problem comes in the last phrase: having little faith. Faith trusts God for the outcome and not things of this world or our own efforts and thinking. Worry comes from a lack of faith in God because our faith is in ourselves or other people, who will often disappoint and not so as we need or want. We can ask God to increase our faith. We can take small steps that lead to more trust.
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