Care

Care in Scripture encompasses both the anxious worry that Christ commands his disciples to renounce and the genuine pastoral and personal concern that characterizes love. Jesus's Sermon on the Mount addresses excessive anxiety about food, drink, and clothing with the assurance that the heavenly Father knows his children's needs and that seeking first the kingdom of God is the antidote to worldly anxiety (Matt. 6:25–34). The same teaching is echoed in 1 Peter 5:7: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Paul's profound peace transcends understanding — "not being anxious about anything" through prayer and thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6–7). At the same time, Scripture commends genuine care for others as integral to love: Paul speaks of the "care of all the churches" weighing daily upon him (2 Cor. 11:28), and the NT repeatedly uses the language of mutual care within the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:25). The parable of Martha and Mary distinguishes between anxious distraction and the one thing needful — sitting at the Lord's feet (Luke 10:41–42). Care rightly ordered is directed first to God's kingdom and then expressed outward in love for neighbor.