A man had a big reputation as a worrier. He drove his friends’ bananas worrying about
things which might or might not happen.
Suddenly his friends noticed a drastic change in his demeanor. He was happy and calm. He stopped talking about being worried all
the time. A friend asked him what had
changed. The man said he recently had a
revelation and decided to hire someone to worry for him. “How much does this cost you?" the
friend asked. "Oh, about $1,000 a
week," the man replied. His friend
exclaimed: “But that's a lot of money,
how can you afford to pay him?" The
man answered calmly, "Oh, well that's his worry!"
Do you ever worry? Silly question I know. Worry seems to be intrinsic to the human
mind. What do you worry about more than anything
else? So be honest and ask yourself this
question - why do you worry? I'll tell
you why, because there is a heck of a lot of things to worry about, that’s why.
What is your worry du jour, your
worry of the day? We worry about our
children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, our health, our jobs, our
finances, our education, social security, government shut-downs, disease,
illness, crime, floods, fires, earthquakes, terrorist threats, the economy,
growing older, global warming, the Padres winning and I've just begun.
We worry about things we can
control and things we can't control and often get confused about which is
which. The more we can’t control the
more we worry. We worry about things
that might happen, that most likely won't happen, and that have never
happened. Yes, there is no dearth of
things to worry about. Worry seems to
be natural to human nature. The longer
we live the more we realize that life itself is worrisome.
So if this is patently true, is
the subject of worry even worth talking about or is it a waste of time? Jesus apparently didn’t think it was a waste
of time. He specifically addressed it in
the Sermon on the Mount when he spoke to the crowds. Jesus believed it was a salient
subject. Jesus says: “Therefore
I tell you, do not worry about your life.”
Someone said - “I just finished a
12-step program, I am now a recovering worrier.”
Why is worrying about things a
problem? It’s a problem because at the
core of worry is fear, underlying worry is fear, and fear is a powerful
emotion. Worry wears us down, it saps
our strength, it drains us of energy and joy and hope. It can change our personality, break our
spirit, and cause us to be downcast all the time. We know worry is detrimental to our physical
health, our mental health, our spiritual health and our relationships. Worry can paralyze you and immobilize
you.
“Therefore I tell you, Jesus says, do not worry about your life.” Now think about what Jesus is NOT saying in
these words. He is not saying: “Life is easy, it doesn't have any troubles
or problems, it's just your imagination.”
He is not saying: “Life is always
fair.” He is not saying: “Everything always turns out all right, it
will happen the way you want it too.”
He is not saying: “It's OK to make irresponsible decisions and
to lead a reckless life.” He is not
saying: “Your mistakes or poor choices
won't have consequences.” He is not
saying: “You don't have to work hard, you can get by on your charm and good
looks.” Jesus isn't saying any of
these things.
What is Jesus saying? First, the Greek word Jesus uses is merimnao;
it means to “worry anxiously.” Jesus
here is not speaking about the normal ordinary worries and concerns which pass
through our minds on a daily basis. A
good translation of the Greek is: “Anxiety, anxious-worry, fearful worry or
worried fear.” It’s the kind of worry
that plagues you, that haunts your ever waking moment, that negatively affects
your spirit and health, that can harm relationships, that confounds your
thinking, that draws the joy out of you.
I remember my wife Nancy telling
me about sitting on plane getting ready to fly from CO to CA. She said a young woman sat down next to her
obviously extremely agitated. The young
woman said: “I hate to fly and just saw something very upsetting but I won't say
what until after we land.” She
proceeds to order drink after drink during the flight. After the plane lands, the young woman turned
to Nancy and
said: “Did you know a woman was flying this plane?”
Second, Jesus says that “anxious
worry” is useless, futile, pointless, unproductive. It is a colossal waste of time and
energy. Mark Twain said: “I am
an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them have never
happened.” Matthew 6:27 points this
out. It is ambiguous and can have one of
two meanings. It can mean that no one by
worrying can grow taller or add a cubit or 18 inches to his height. It can also mean that no one by worrying,
can live longer or extend one’s life.
You may add time to your life by a healthy diet or through exercise, but
you won't add one day, or one hour or one minute by worrying. Someone said that worry is like a fog
bank. Fog can blanket a city for blocks
and be as much as 100 feet deep. But if
we were to take that fog and convert it into water, it would only fill up a
single glass.
Third, Jesus is saying remember
this truth, you are of ultimate value to God, you are precious in God's sight. “Look
at the birds of the air, your heavenly Father feeds them, are you not much more
valuable than them?” Knowing this,
believing this, trusting this is crucial for faith. It is having the assurance that God gave us
the gift of life and that we can trust God to give us the lesser things of life
One way to remember this is
through prayer. Turning worries over to
God, and doing it again, and again.
Worry is passive, prayer is active.
Pray unceasingly. Pray for God to
deliver you from the weight of worry.
Pray for a strong and life-giving faith.
Trust God in the things that are beyond your control, turn them over to
Him, because those are especially the things we worry about. Give thanks to God for your blessings. Give thanks always. Trust that God is ultimately in charge of
life and of your life. Include God in
the details, in the little problems, as well as in the major crises.
The letter of I Peter says: “Cast all your anxiety on God, because he
cares for you.” There is that same
word again, anxious worry. Ask God to
unburden you, to free you, from the anxious worry that is weighing you
down. Ask God to help you experience His
power and strength in the midst of stressful and worrisome circumstances.
Phil. 4:6-7 says: “Don’t
worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all
He has done. If you do this, you will
experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can
understand. God’s peace will guard your
hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” I love this verse. Peace is one of God's greatest gifts. You are of ultimate value to God; don't lose
your sense of humor and your joy.
Fourth, Jesus is saying that you
and I are to put God first in our lives.
God is to be the center, not ourselves, not our family, not our career,
not our money. “Strive first for the kingdom
of God
Finally, Jesus is saying
cultivate the art of living one day at a time.
Today is known. Live each day as
it comes, handle each demand as it comes, carry out each task as it appears,
and don't worry about the unknown future.
“Don’t worry about tomorrow,
tomorrow will bring worries of its own, today's trouble is enough for today.” Plan for tomorrow, set goals for tomorrow,
dream dreams for tomorrow, think about tomorrow, but don't allow tomorrow to
consume you with worry.
Here are the first four steps
from the twelve steps for worriers:
1. Prepare for the worst - Hope
for the best. Accept the worst possible
outcome and then take action to improve it.
2. Get Busy. When you find
yourself beginning to worry - get busy on your to-do list. List your goals and the action steps required
to meet them. One of the benefits of your to-do list is you will stop worrying
about forgetting something important.
3. Distract Yourself. Call a
friend. Read a good book. Watch a funny movie. Take the kids to the park. Take
a walk. There's dozens of things you can do.
4. Get Support. Friends and
family can be an excellent source of support. Especially if they will tell you how
they see things. Sometimes just talking things out, helps the worry go
away. People are ready to help. I have always found that true in my life,
there is always someone who is willing and ready give support.
An author wrote: “There
are two days of every week about which we should not worry. There are two days
which should be kept free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday, with all its
mistakes and cares, faults and blunders. Yesterday is passed, forever beyond
our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot
undo a single act we performed and we cannot erase a single word we said.
Yesterday has gone.
The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow with all its
possible adversities, its burdens, its large promises, and poor
performances. Tomorrow's sun will rise
in splendor, or behind a mask of cloud, but it will rise. Until it does we have no stake in tomorrow,
for it is yet unborn.
That leaves only one day, today. Any person can fight the battles of one day. It is only when you add the burdens of those
two awful eternities, yesterday and tomorrow, that we break down. It's not the
experience of today that drives people mad, it is remorse or bitterness for
something that happened yesterday, or the dread of what might happen
tomorrow. Let us journey together, with
God, but one day at a time.” Amen
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