Matthew 6:31 starts off with the word but. And of course I must "LOOK" at what the definition of the word but is.
BUT - on the contrary; yet: without the circumstance that: otherwise than:
So I am to but/be contrary to the Gentiles (heathen). I am to but/be otherwise than the Gentiles (heathen).
Whats that look like? For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek after all these things. This is what I call the flip side. The Gentiles do this so I, being a believer, am to do the opposite. The Gentiles wish for... I am to trust for. The gentiles crave for... I am to seek first. The Gentiles diligently seek after... I am to strive after.
So here's what I'm getting. The Gentiles (heathen) are uneasy, anxious and worry... BUT, I am greater in quality and far above and more excellent. BUT, I am worth more than they. BUT, I am arrayed more magnificant than Solomon.
In closing I realize that I may have missed the most revealing definition of the word but. "Without the circumstance that" Without the circumstance that causes me to be uneasy. Without the circumstance that puts me in a place of being anxious. Without the circumstance I wouldn't worry. Without the circumstance!
CIRCUMSTANCE - a condition, detail, part, or attribute, that accompanies, determines, or modifies a fact or event; a modifying or influencing factor: the existing conditions or state of affairs surrounding and affecting an agent: an unessential or secondary accompaniment of any fact or event; minor detail.
An unessential or secondary fact.... Food, drink, clothes, uneasy, anxious, worry, wishing for, craving for, diligently seeking after an unessential fact.
APPLICATION - First are you a Gentile (heathen) or a believer? Don't laugh or be insulted, it's a valid question. Isn't it possible that our lives are not reflecting the later? Then take a look at the "circumstances" that may be influencing your life right now and determine whether they are unessential facts.
The thing that stood out to me was the difference in how the Gentile and the believer react to the same situation. I think there's probably times where I react like a Gentile and others where I react like a believer. There's probably still a lot of areas of my life that I haven't had the renewal of my mind. Circumstances do tend to really knock me off my spiritual feet at times, and I do wish for instead of ask for. There's no telling how much I'm hindering myself, or even others because of it.
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