A cursory read of Luke 12:22 might cause one to think Jesus was advocating irresponsibility toward what we possess, but this isn’t so. What Jesus is telling his disciples is: they must not permit the cares of necessities of life dictate how they would speak and act. The necessities of life can be taken away by our enemies, but that understanding must not silence us. We must not allow our fear to suppress the Gospel.
Jesus told his disciples in Luke 12:22 to take no thought (G3309) of what they might eat or put on in the context of serving the Kingdom of God – remember all these things in Luke 11 and 12 occurred in response to the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1), and that prayer is in the context of the spread of God’s authority throughout the world (Luke 11:2). The same Greek word (G3309) was used of Martha in the context of what Mary had chosen to do (Luke 10:41-42). It is also used of a husband and a wife caring for the things of the world in order to please one another, but if they were alone their care would be for God alone (1Corinthians 7:32-34). So, it isn’t wrong to care for the things of this world or to care for one another (Philippians 2:20), but it would be wrong to allow such care to dictate how faithful we are to God and his Kingdom (Philippians 4:6).
Sometimes the blessings in life come in the form of things of this world. However, there is a danger in possessing such things, in that we could allow things to posses us or dictate our behavior (Luke 12: 23; cf. 12:15). We need to be of a mind to act as though we didn’t have what we currently possess (cf. 1Corinthians 7:29-32a) and serve God as though he is all there is in life.
The Rich Fool (Luke 12:16-21), on the other hand, was so caught up in what he possessed (a blessing from God), that he allowed his possession to posses him. He spent all he had on himself, and offered nothing to God, showing the truism of the proverb, that it is impossible for a man to serve two masters (Luke 16:13; cf. Romans 6:16). He decided to build larger storehouses in order to keep his goods (blessings), because he thought that his increase (blessings) represented his life. In contrast, Jesus tells us that a man’s life does not consist of what he possesses (Luke 12:23), even if his possessions are the blessings of God (Luke 12:16).
The point of Jesus teaching is that God doesn’t need storehouses in order to bless his people (Luke 12:24), so there is no need to be concerned over how much we have and whether or not we could lose it in the wake of persecution. In other parts of Scripture Jesus taught the same lesson by pointing to the sparrows (Luke 12:7), yet in Luke 12:24 he mentions ravens to make his point. What Jesus was probably doing, as was the custom of rabbis teaching their disciples, was that he used one key word (ravens in Luke 12:24) to point to a specific Scripture that expressed his current thought. In this case, Jesus was probably pointing to how God had commanded the ravens to feed Elijah, the prophet, during the drought that had occurred in Israel due to his judging his people (cf. 1Kings 17:1-4). In other words, God doesn’t need storehouses to feed us during troublesome times. Therefore, don’t permit troublesome times to dictate our faithfulness in serving God.
I believe Jesus point in Luke 12:25-26 is that we are unable to add even a little time to our expected lifetime, so why take anxious thought of the necessities of life when serving God’s Kingdom? It seems that the Scriptures tell us that our lifespan is predetermined (Job 7:1; 14:1-5). While our lives may be taken away prematurely by man, we are unable to add to our lives, even in a small measure (cf. Luke 12:25-26). Therefore, it is fruitless to worry over the necessities of life, if they could be lost while serving God. God is able to supply our needs, no matter what the circumstances, and he will do so, if we lose all we have because of our faithfulness to him.
By pointing to the lilies of the field[1] (Luke 12:27-28), which decorated the landscape of Judea and Galilee during the Passover season, Jesus was saying that God doesn’t need our labor to bless us with the necessities of life. If we lose our jobs, because of our faithfulness to God, then he will be responsible for our care. Just as he cloths the grass with the beautiful lily, so he will commit himself to clothe us.
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[1] Certainly if, in the wondrous richness of bloom which characterizes the land of Israel in spring, any one plant can claim preeminence, it is the Anemone (lily of the field), the most natural flower for our Lord to pluck and seize upon as an illustration whether walking in the fields or sitting on the hillside. [H.B. Tristram, M.A., F.S.S.; “The Natural History of the Bible” page 465
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