New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 6:31

Treasures and Worry

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ Matthew 6:31 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Matthew 6:31, in plain English

So stop running those anxious loops in your head: 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?'

Why it's here

Jesus knows you replay these worries on repeat, and He's gently telling you to hit pause.

Who's speaking

Jesus, interrupting your worry cycle.

Where it sits in the story

This is Jesus naming the exact thoughts that keep you up at night and telling you it's okay to let them go.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

Jesus prohibits the anxious refrain of basic survival questions, using me oun merimnao (therefore do not be anxious), repeating the command from verse 25 for emphasis.

Language and setting

The repetitive phrasing mimics the cyclical nature of worry itself, which rehearses the same fears over and over.

Voice

Jesus, reiterating His command against anxiety.

Significance

This repeated prohibition shows that overcoming worry requires ongoing, conscious redirection of trust toward God.

In context

Matthew 6:29–33

29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.

30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

32For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

Read all of Matthew 6 — Jesus redefines wealth, prayer, and anxiety in a single breath. The lilies and the birds become his unlikely teachers.

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