Monday, March 30, 2015

Being Worried

Matthew 6:27 And who of you by being worried can add a single  hour to his life?

Without directly saying the word “death” here, Jesus is speaking to our worry about dying. 

How much time do we spend worrying about death, when it’s going to happen to those we love, how or when will tragedy strike,  how we will survive, and so on.  These questions mostly arise in my own life when I hear of a sudden death in the family of someone I love.  I’m stricken by panic and fear, and sorrow and sadness, all at one time – and it’s too heavy to bear.

Jesus asks us another question, that rephrased as a statement might read like:

Worry doesn’t add to your life, it only takes away!

Worry is a joy-robber.  We are joyful when life is good, all those we love are well, and everything is coming up roses.  But one thought of devastation or loss and we can plummet into a pit of despair, joy nowhere to be found.

Worry doesn’t accomplish anything good.  It doesn’t add time to our timeline of life.  In fact, we have to come to terms with the fact that our lives are in his hands, and that’s a good place for them to be…for whatever time he gives us here on earth.

One of the best antidotes for worry is thankfulness.  So when we start to worry about death, we can start thanking him for life.


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