Merely Human Concerns
Many times, in fact most times, God’s concerns are different from the concerns of humans. Bible teaching is often given from the standpoint of God’s concern for us. Indeed, God is concerned for us. He loves us. He cares for us, and His intent is for our good. While this is unarguably the case and well documented in the Word, we should not confuse God’s concern for our wellbeing as a concern for those things of which we are concerned.
Naturally, God’s concerns transcend the natural concerns of humans. God is not limited by nor are His thoughts bound by our world’s construct. God has no time. Therefore, God’s actions are made on a timeless scale. God has no need of man’s resources to accomplish His will. He does not think of money, power, marketing or any other of the natural accommodations of man. While He may use these things to His end and our benefit, He is not limited by them and does not require them.
So God’s concerns always transcend human concerns.
Human concerns will often distract from and even oppose the concerns of God.
The scripture in Luke 12 gives further explanation on this subject:
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
When we set our minds on concerns that are not in line with God’s concerns we get off course and hinder God’s work in our lives. Human concerns draw us away from the Lord and into the world. The way you think, where you focus, what you set your heart on is where you will go. God’s concerns should be the focus of our concerns.
Sometimes our human concerns can be in direct opposition to God’s concerns. This is what happened between Jesus and Peter. In Matthew 16:23 we see Peter using human concern to try to subvert God’s concerns. To be clear, this was not a malicious action on Peter’s part. He was simply trying to be supportive of Jesus. But Jesus recognized it as going against what God the Father wanted and set Peter in his place. Toward the end of Jesus’ ministry here on earth He began to reveal to His disciples the way He would finish His mission. There was discussion of being falsely accused, turned over to the authorities and crucified. Peter wanted none of it. So he objected to Jesus’ revelation and told Him, “This shall never happen to you!” (vs 22).
Jesus quickly and summarily ends Peter’s objections with, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (vs 23) When human concerns confront God’s concerns we must, like Jesus, act decisively to end them and move forward with God’s concerns.