Don’t Worry, Be Happy – Luke 12:31 | Steve's Bible Meditations

Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you” (Luke 12:31, ESV).

Having security and achieving happiness are important priorities in life for almost any human being. In fact, they are like co-dependent conditions for a fulfilling life. You can’t really have one without the other.

In a short discourse in Luke 12:22-31 that appears in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus addresses the human need for happiness and security in life.

Since God is the ultimate source of life, He is also the ultimate provider of all our needs as well. So, Jesus declared that all our human energy and action should be directed toward knowing Him and becoming like Him rather than trying to accumulate needed possessions.

Simply stated, we should not take the things we possess too seriously nor should we be anxious about accumulating them.

If we take too much pride in our possessions (or in the accumulation of possessions) or worry too much about how we are going to obtain possessions, then we cannot fully participate in God’s Kingdom because “where your treasure is, there will your heart will be also” (Luke 6:34; Matthew 6:21).

So Jesus told His disciples to depend on God to meet your material needs and then invest your time and energy in what God is doing.

Maybe that’s God’s way of saying, “Don’t worry, be happy.”