No, Jesus is not shaming people with Mental Illness in Matthew 6:25-34
I was reading the Sermon on the Mount recently and stopped when I came across Matthew 6:25-34. I’ve read the passage countless times, and knew what my Savior was going to instruct. What stopped me wasn’t the Lord’s words, it was the heading my Bible gave to this passage: “The Cure for Anxiety”. (Christian Standard Bible, 2017)
Yikes.
It was about six months before going to Bible college in 2016 that I learned I had OCD. For the first time in my life, I was experiencing constant anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. I was overwhelmed, confused, and scared. The response from my Christian brothers and sisters was diverse. Some were more supportive than others, but I can say with great thankfulness that I was surrounded by loving, listening, and faithful saints who stood by me through that dark period in my life.
Since then, my OCD is thankfully far less intense. I’m on medication, have mentors who guide me, and have experienced the intimacy and compassion of the Holy Spirit in some of my darkest nights of the soul. To say the Lord has been good to me would be an understatement. But having wrestled with mental illness, it breaks my heart when I hear the testimonies of others who weren’t given the same empathy by Christians when battling anxiety and depression. And even worse, to hear how Christians twisted the words of our Lord Jesus to shame them for having anxiety and depression makes me angry.
Isn’t Jesus saying we shouldn’t worry?
This passage has been weaponized many times by many Christians (including leaders) to claim that any mental anxiety must be because of a lack of faith. After all, in verse 30, Jesus does accuse the worriers of lacking faith, so it makes sense, right? Jesus is telling us not to have anxiety, to seek the Kingdom first, and our anxiety will be healed. Anything that doesn’t result in this must be because of lacking faith, unconfessed sin, or double mindedness, right?
Actually, no. Not necessarily.
Therefore…
To understand this passage in its appropriate context we have to recognize the very first thing Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25)
If a passage in Scripture starts with, “Therefore”, it is crucial to back up and see what led to this passage. Jesus is connecting this instruction to what was previously said in Matthew 6. So, what was said before this?
Jesus calls His followers in Matthew 6:19-24 to not focus on worldly possessions and pleasures. First, in verses 19-21, He calls us to focus on treasure in heaven over earth. Next, in verses 22-23, He warns us to be careful what we pay attention to and what we allow ourselves to be influenced by. And in verse 24, Jesus makes His point as straightforward as He can:
“No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?”
When we place the passages side by side, as they were originally written, it’s pretty clear Jesus is talking about worrying over possessions. Jesus is not talking about mental illness or chemical imbalance.
The Church Fathers saw this connection as well. John Chrysostom (4th century) connected the call to not worry in relation to possessions and planning. (John Chrysostom, Homilies on Matthew 21.3) Look at the examples Jesus gives in Matthew 6:25-34: food and clothing. These are basic needs all people have day to day. Jesus is saying to trust in God’s provision over the basic needs, and to not spend so much time and money on them.
The Gentiles
Jesus then connects such worrying to the Gentiles. Why? Because the Gentiles were worried about superficial things like luxury and comfort. Clement of Alexandria (2nd-3rd century) elaborates on this:
“Now pride and luxury make men waverers from the truth; and the voluptuousness, which indulges in superfluities, leads away from truth. Wherefore He says very beautifully, ‘And all these things do the nations of the world (Gentiles) seek after.’ The nations (Gentiles) are the dissolute and the foolish. And what are these things which He specifies? Luxury, voluptuousness, rich cooking, dainty feeding, gluttony.”
Jesus is calling His followers to pursue a radical lifestyle that surrenders comfort and control. Instead of over planning on possessions and meals, we are to put our trust in our Creator one day at a time. And if one is curious, there are good reasons to believe this isn’t directly instructed to the poor and starving. (McKnight, 2013, Pg. 222) Jesus is calling those who already have what they need to surrender their privileges, give to those in need, and focus on the Kingdom. (Matthew 6:1-4)
Jesus knows and cares
I have no doubt it wasn’t the intention of the CSB Committee to rebuke those with anxiety when they created this heading for Matthew 6:25-34. In fact, it could very well be they weren’t even thinking about mental health when they wrote that heading. But considering how this passage continues to be used to lecture people who battle mental illness, I think it would be better for Bible translators to come up with a better heading for this passage, or just not have a heading at all.
Conclusion
I want to encourage any brothers and sisters wrestling with anxiety/depression that the Spirit knows your struggles, knows your intentions, and cares. Passages like Psalm 13 show David’s lament of mental and spiritual anguish. Christ Himself sweats blood in the overwhelming anxiety of His upcoming suffering. (Luke 22:44)
Yes, Christ is our Healer, and the Holy Spirit is our Counselor. Yes, we should pray first and foremost to the Lord for all healing. But just as we may pray for physical healing while also going to a hospital, we can pray for mental healing and see a doctor.
If you are in a position to listen and care for someone going through depression, anxiety, or trauma, please be slow to speak and quick to listen. (James 1:19) Job’s friends thought they had the answers because Job’s suffering challenged their theological assumptions. Don’t be like Job’s friends. Instead, sit in the suffering of a neighbor, weep with them, pray for them, and get them the help they need.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. -Matthew 5:5
Bibliography
Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Schaff, P. (2016). The Complete Anti-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Collection of Early Church Fathers. Toronto, Canada.
McKnight, S. (2013). The Story of God Bible Commentary: Sermon on the Mount. Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan.