Christ Teaches that Nature is Easy while Society is Hard

Mat 6:28 And why are you worried about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they do not toil, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29
And yet I tell to you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

The word translated as "consider" is katamanthano, which means "to examine closely" or "to learn thoroughly." What we are to consider is how the lilies of the field (translated very literally) increase (auxano) in size and number. Yet, despite growing in size and number, lilies do not grow weary. The term translated as "toil" is kopiao, which means "to tire" or "to grow weary" and only secondarily refers to the hard work that makes you tired.

This continues with the theme of contrasting what is natural with what is social. Here, the lilies are nature. Doing what is natural for them is easy, requiring no effort. Only human skills, in this case, spinning cloth (netho, in Greek), require effort.

The term used for Solomon's glory, duxa, also emphasizes social roles. The primary meaning of duxa is reputation, that is, the opinion that others have of us. So Christ is clearly connecting our social standing with the clothes we wear. Worrying about clothing is the same as worrying about our reputation. Despite Solomon's high social standing, he was not clothed as beautifully as the lilies, which no nothing of society and its expectations. ("Expectation" is another meaning for duxa.)

Also interesting is the word used for "arrayed." It is periballo, which literally means "to put around" or "to throw around." You can put clothes around your self, but you also surround yourself with your reputation. Again, few of us are surrounded by reputations as good as those of the simple lilies of the field.