THERE’S PLENTY TO WORRY US.
No matter who we are or where we are on this planet, we’ve got legit reasons to worry.
I worry about a lot of things.
I actually made a list and was going to post it. But many items on the list relate to political policies. And I don’t want to alienate a fair percentage of the readership, since there is enough worry to go around for all of us.
Given what we have to worry about, I wonder how much sense Jesus makes with what he said about worry in his most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount.
I’ve been working on paraphrasing Matthew for the Casual English Bible.
“Let me ask you this,” Jesus said. “If you worried hard enough, could you grow a millimeter taller or live a day longer? (Matthew 6:27 Casual English Bible).
Well, no, probably neither.
But could it make me shorter or kill me a day sooner?
I’m not sure it can make me any shorter, but I have heard about people worrying themselves to death. So I guess that’s one reason not to worry.
In his sermon, Jesus painted some beautiful word pictures to explain why we shouldn’t worry.
“Look up at the birds flying above you. They don’t plant a garden. They don’t harvest a crop. They don’t store grain in barns. But your Father in heaven feeds them. Aren’t you more important than the birds?
…Why do you worry about clothes? Look at all the wildflowers in the field. They’re everywhere. They don’t lift the pedal to do a thing. They don’t spin fabric to make their own clothes.
But I’ll tell you this, King Solomon decked out in his best royal robes wasn’t nearly as good looking as a flower.
People, if God dresses the grass of the field with flowers as beautiful as this—grass that grows here today but tomorrow will burn as fuel in the oven—won’t he put clothes on you, too?” (Matthew 6:26, 28-30 Casual English Bible).
Yet, not everyone has the clothes they need to keep them warm, or the food they need to keep their stomachs from growling.
I wonder. Could it be that Jesus wasn’t making a speech against all worry? Perhaps he was talking about selective worry—the stuff we can’t control.
Some worry seems healthy because it will prod us to make some plans. We worry about our career, so we get some training that will help us to do better or pivot to another line of work. But losing sleep and appetite because of the worry isn’t helpful. It’s hurtful. To us. And to those who care about us. Maybe that’s part of what Jesus was talking about.
I wonder, too, if the people who should be worrying about folks who don’t have clothes to keep them warm or food to keep their stomachs from growling are those of us who have plenty of both. Maybe that’s healthy worry because it prods us to do something about it.
Hello Steve, Reading this came at a right time. My dog taffy is going through some difficult times. She supposed to have surgery on her spine but they don’t think she can handle the anesthesia. I’ve been giving her prednisone which is supposed to help with the inflammation. Whent I hear her yelping and crying it just breaks my heart. I stress out over her. I’ve been reading some passages in the Bible to help me through this time. I’m good for a while and then when I hear her cry ….I think I should show our Lord that I have more faith and be patient with the medications and that his will be done. Thank you for listening to my thoughts. If you have any advice I would appreciate it so much. Heidi Meinke