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Why worry? Matt 6: 25 – 34 Rev. Peter R Green, Sunday morning, 04 Mar, 2007 |
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DON’T LET worry worry you! I can be a worrier, so I am no example for you. But maybe I can help myself and help a few of you as well. We can all use a few gospel changes, can’t we? I do want to make it clear that worry has a place in our lives. It is not so much that we must never worry, but that we must learn not to be dominated or controlled by worry. Here’s why. There are several emotions which we usually view as negative. These include fear, worry, anger, depression, sadness. We think of them as something bad because we don’t feel good when they occur. But, if you think it over, they are all good in their place. We feel fear when we face a threat. If we didn’t, we would not do anything to make ourselves safe. But, if fear dominates our lives, or if our fear is out of proportion to our situation, then we have a problem. Pain alerts us to an injury or some similar problem with our bodies. People with leprosy, diabetics and other people with impaired nervous systems often don’t feel pain when they are injured, which is why they often lose fingers and toes to infections. And worry has a place in our lives, too. When we lived at Berala, we had a house with an uneven floor. It was a little higher next to the bedroom wall than it was at the outer edges. We weren’t quite sure what was causing it until one day my father had a look and said, “Your roof is too heavy, and it is making the whole building twist.” We took a look, and, sure enough, that was it. The previous owner had replaced an iron roof with tiles and hadn’t built up the footings. The outer walls were sinking and the middle walls were staying where they were. I had to do something quickly. But you know what it is like, trying to get a tradesman to come. I found a builder who gave me a price, and I called him to come and do the work, but he was never available. I had to do something. And that was a time when worry was quite appropriate. It was an old–style pole-plate roof, and the whole thing could have just collapsed if there was a big storm. That worry kept me from forgetting until I finally had ties across the house and a strut to spread the load onto the middle walls. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it reduced the risk and reduced my worry! Worry helps us not forget what has to be done soon. It gives you that little burst of adrenaline that says to you, “Don’t just say, ‘What, me worry?’ Find a solution! Do something quickly!” So worry can be our friend. It’s our friend when it says, “Pay your bills! Sort out your housing! See the doctor! Reconcile with that friend!” It is our enemy when it makes us sick, when we don’t even know what we are worrying about, when we are worrying about things we can’t do anything about at all. However, there are many Bible passages telling us not to worry, and we need to understand them.
THE LITTLE THINGS Jesus says, MT 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? There are times when each one of us faces worries about these basics. Some of you will know about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It points out that our most basic needs are air, food, water, the things that keep us physically alive. Then we need shelter and clothing and so on up the scale. Jesus is talking about some of these most basic things in life and saying, “Don’t panic about them.” That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take steps to provide what we do need. It is irresponsible to neglect to get clothes or food when it is needed. But there are two issues here. When we truly lack these things and don’t have a way ahead, that is when, as Jesus says, we need not give way to worry. God is remarkably able and willing to provide. I can think of two particular instances. One was when the kids were little, and suspension collapsed in our Austin 1800. It was an expense I really couldn’t afford, but I went to Parramatta to get the money, knowing that I would have to put off paying some bills to fix the car. I stepped off the bus and collided with mum, who asked me what I was doing there and just pulled the right amount, in round figures out of her purse and gave it to me. God often does provide through the right person in the right place at the right time. Then there was the time when I needed an academic gown for a specific ministry issue when I was in theological college, and we were living on my superannuation and long service leave. I tried everywhere! None of my friends had one I could borrow, I didn’t have time to hire one from the University, I had friends scouting among their friends... Chris prayed about it and, the next day, saw one in the local St Vincent de Paul shop, drycleaned, pressed, my size, ready to go, and only $30. We could afford that, but not the $300 or whatever you’d normally have paid. We’ve never seen another one for sale in an op-shop. But when we needed it, God provided. That example shows the good and the bad purposes of worry. We had enough worry to keep us from forgetting that we needed the gown, but we didn’t let it defeat us or overwhelm us, because we knew it would work out. If it was God’s purpose, then God would supply. In one way, an academic gown was a big thing, because they are not easy to come by. But in another way, it was only a little thing, because, after all, it was only clothes. Jesus teaches us not to worry about the little things. MT 6:28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
THINGS YOU CAN’T CHANGE One of our neighbours was going through a rather bad time in her life around the same time as there was all that strife over the break–up of Yugoslavia. She became really worried about Yugoslavia, and she wanted me to do something about it, because she couldn’t. You and I know that her worry about Yugoslavia was probably caused by her own worries. She was just worried about everything, and, in some ways, a distant country was easier to face than her own troubles. We need to see what is happening worldwide. We are right to be sad when people suffer. We should understand what is happening in the troublespots. But we can’t afford to be eaten up with worry about it. Jesus says, 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? The length of our life is totally beyond our control. Why worry about the things we can’t change? Some of you know that I have some symptoms of a blood condition which has been known to be fatal. So far, the tests show such low levels of the problem that I may never have any symptoms in my lifetime. But I have to go once a year to get a checkup and make sure that nothing has changed very much. It changes a little, but it is the kind of thing that can go up and down over time. When I first went to see the specialist, he was surprised that I was so calm about it. He said that most people get panicked when they first hear the term, “CLL”. I don’t particularly want to develop the symptoms, but worrying can’t change a thing. I know what the likely worst news is, and I know what the possible good news is. I know that one day something is bound to carry me off unless Jesus comes first. So why worry? There is no point in worrying about what you can’t change.
ETERNITY There are times when it is quite appropriate to worry about eternity. If you have no certainty about eternal life, then you should worry. But you should also ensure that you have nothing to worry about. Jesus says, JN 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. In other words, “Don’t worry or be scared: trust God and trust me. We will look after you in time and in eternity.” It’s not all that different from what he said in Matthew’s gospel: ...the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Before I became a Christian, I used to sometimes worry about what would become of me after death. Then, when I was a believer, I worried about whether my conversion was genuine, whether I truly had repented and believed. So I was worrying about whether I would have a share in the mansions prepared for me. Then I realised — and I don’t know if I can make it clear enough to you in these few words — I grasped with a life–changing clarity that that was what faith was about. It wasn’t just about trusting that Jesus had died for me, but it was also about trusting that whoever comes to Jesus, no matter how weakly, no matter how limited the faith or inadequate the repentance — the Bible says, “Whoever!” — Jesus will not cast out. It is not about the quality of my faith. My faith is always going to be inadequate. It isn’t about the depth of my repentance: my repentance will always be farcically impoverished. It is about Jesus accepting whoever comes to himself. I don’t need to worry about my acceptance before God: I trust God, I trust Jesus, and I am accepted. HOW TO OVERCOME WORRY But it’s one thing to be told not to worry and an entirely different thing to actually stop our worry, because worry is a feeling, and we can’t control our feelings all that much. As I said, feelings are there to inform and warn us, so we don’t really want to get rid of them only keep them in their place. I have three hints. They are not entire solutions, but they will help us avoid being controlled by our worries.
Jesus says 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Jesus has been teaching us not to get carried away with worries about our clothes and our food and drink. There are sad people around who have no interest in anything but these superficialities. Don’t become one of them! If we put God’s plans, God’s purposes, God’s Kingdom in the first place in our lives, we will know what is important. There are things in this world that I would like to own or to have. There are things others have that I would like. But I know that they are far from the first things in life, and I don’t start getting anxious or worried about them because they are not my greatest priorities. There are even things that would be quite desirable and worth having, but the same thing applies: they don’t have much to do with the Kingdom, so why get bothered about them? The more we can prioritise on God’s kingdom, the less we will be worried about lesser things. Hint 2: Fix today Jesus says 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Jesus says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow,” but that means that we do have to give today some attention. I will become a procrastinator once I get organised enough. So I know all about having things dragging from today that are still not dealt with and only become more of a worry tomorrow. The fact is, the times I do get today organised and dealt with, those are the times when tomorrow becomes more manageable. That applies to relationships, where Jesus tells us not even to begin trying to worship him until we deal with our damaged relationships. It applies to our business dealings where God tells us to sort out our debts as soon as we incur them. It applies to our relationship with God, where the Bible tells us that today is the day of salvation.
Hint 3: Choose to trust Finally, Jesus says JN 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. Trust is a choice, not an emotion. On the basis of all that you know about Jesus, you can choose to trust, to depend on him to be with you in the testing times
As we all learn to prioritise, as well all learn to deal with today and as we all learn to trust, God will bless us, we will find that worries will lessen, and we will be able to accomplish great things for God’s kingdom. May God bless us all as we learn to obey these truths. AMEN |
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© Peter R. Green 2007. Permission is granted for quotation in full for non-commercial purposes provided that authorship is acknowledged and this copyright notice is displayed with the text. Portions also copyright The Bible, NIV (Zondervan Ltd.) |
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