Should we worry?
I worry about a lot of things, ranging from my health, my job, financial responsibilities, ecclesial responsibilities, spiritual life, family life, the list goes on. It is stressful to say the least, so stressful that I inevitably reach out to someone and tell about all the stressors in my life and how I feel.
Usually in these cases, we are offered some sentiment of “well, things could be worse,” or “at least you have blankity-blank unlike John Doe over there.” Or perhaps we receive some encouragement and sympathy from a listening brother or sister, some advice on how to better handle the situation. Eventually, after all of that, it is either suggested to me or I am reminded in all my worry to look to Scripture:
“And he said to his disciples, Therefore I say to you, Be not anxious as to your life, what you shall eat; nor for the body, what you shall put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap, having neither storehouse nor barn, and God feeds them. How much more are you better than the birds? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his stature? If then you are not able to do even the least, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow; they do not toil, they do not spin. And yet I say to you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass (which today is in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven) how much more will He clothe you, O little-faiths? And do not seek what you shall eat, nor what you shall drink, and stop being in anxiety” (Luke 12:22-29).
We have read these words many times before, but to be honest, I sometimes feel that when people use this as their advice, it feels like fluff. Don’t worry, about the petty things in life, God will provide. Don’t worry about food, clothing or your job or money, God will take care of you. That’s all fine and dandy, but sometimes it’s harder to not worry than at other times. I need to understand why God said not to worry, why God says He will take care of me. Why would God provide for a sinner?
The obvious answer of course, is love. For God so loved the world, He gave His only son. He loves us so much that He is more than happy to provide for His children. Again, this doesn’t feel complete. This unconditional love and provision of God feels… the idea feels one sided. And on one hand it certainly is. We can never deserve the love that He is giving to us. But the idea that He would say, “Don’t worry,” I want to understand. Why?
Medically speaking, worrying is a state of fear. It is the body reacting to outside stimuli and can often trigger a fight or flight response. The body senses some form of danger and prepares itself for the act of attacking it (fight) or running away (flight). This releases chemicals throughout the body that allow it to react by moving faster or hitting harder.
This release of chemicals is not necessarily catastrophic and many scientists believe this response is meant for extreme circumstances (a child trapped under a car, a wild animal, a dangerous person etc.). It is the body going into survival mode.
When we are stressed or worry frequently, we are prepping ourselves to go into this response more readily, which can have long term effects on our bodies such as immune system deficiencies and other major health problems. This, I should mention, is not from little worries that happen naturally, but dwelling on worries for long periods of time.
So back to Christ’s words, maybe God doesn’t want us to worry because He knows the problems that can be caused from it, health-wise. Similar to God giving instructions on health and safety in the law, these instructions may also be a guide to healthy living. God may choose to take care of the little things because He knows we would make ourselves sick if we were to dwell on them.
And I certainly believe that is part of it. But there is one thing about that fight or flight response that caught my attention: it doesn’t make you think clearer. Just react. If you think about it, thinking in a crisis, taking time to consider options, plan out an attack or flight pattern could slow us down. The body wants to react. And that can lead to some very dangerous choices.
Scriptural examples
Let’s look at some examples in Scripture:
“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, did not bear. And she had a female slave, an Egyptian, and her name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, Behold now, Jehovah has kept me from bearing. I pray you, go in to my slave woman. It may be that I may be built by her. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her slave woman, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife (after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan)” (Gen 16:1-3).
Abram and Sarai had already been promised that they would have a son. This was flat out promised by God and fairly explicitly too. But Abram was old, as was Sarai, so perhaps some worry was understandable. This was a bigger deal than simply food or clothing. But in their worry, Abram and Sarai made a decision not fueled by faith, but by fear. They rigged the game to play in their favor.
And even though the real promise did come to fruition, this shenanigan would later bite them and their descendants — for centuries. And it seems the worry was hereditary:
“And he said to him, Behold, here am I. And he said, Behold now, I am old, I do not know the day of my death. And now please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. And make tasty meat for me, such as I love, and bring to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die. And Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game in order to bring it. And Rebekah spoke to her son Jacob, saying, Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, Bring me game, and make me delicious things so that I may eat and bless you before Jehovah before my death. And now, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. Go now to the flock, and bring me from there two good kids of the goats. And I will make them delicious things for your father, such as he loves. And you shall bring it to your father so that he may eat, and that he may bless you before his death” (Gen 27:2-10).
Here we see all sorts of worries taking hold: Isaac worries for his death so he seeks to bless the son that God already had stated He didn’t like. Jacob too had been worried prior so he forced his brother to give up his birthright (which God had already given him). And his own mother was so worried that Esau would get the blessing that she put together this elaborate scheme to make God’s plan happen.
Again, God’s plan happened regardless, but needless pain and suffering occurred due to this lack of trust and excess of worry. And I believe it is important to note that this is consistent in both cases, and in every case in Scripture. Whenever someone intervened and attempted to move God’s hand because they were worried that it would not happen on its own, the plan STILL went through. Just with added consequences.
And this is not only a family issue, but a human condition. Look at Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Christ:
“Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests. And he said to them, What will you give me, and I will betray him to you? And they appointed to him thirty pieces of silver” (Matt 26:14-15).
Now we know Judas was a not a great guy, but 30 silver pieces to betray a man whom the priests wanted dead seems like a small amount of payment. If it were solely about the money, Judas would have perhaps asked for more.
There have been some though that speculate that Judas’ motivation was never about the money, but to bring the kingdom of God into place, to take down the Roman oppressors — to force God’s hand. And we know it did not end well with him. Yet God’s plan still succeeded, with or without him.
On the flip side, when individuals allowed God’s plan to come to fruition, we see great things happen. Staying within the immediate family, look at Joseph. He, of all of Jacob’s family had every human right to worry about his lot. First he was sold into slavery by his own brothers. At any point during his trip, he could have worried, or feared to the point of reacting badly.
But upon entering Egypt:
“And Joseph was brought down to Egypt. And Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, the chief of the executioners, an Egyptian man, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. And Jehovah was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. And he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that Jehovah was with him, and that Jehovah made all he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him. And he made him overseer over his house, and he put into his hand all he had. And it happened from the time he had made him overseer in his house, and over all he had, that Jehovah blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake. And the blessing of Jehovah was upon all that he had, in the house and in the field” (Gen 39:1-5).
It is not stated that Joseph was not worried, but I feel that Potiphar would not have promoted a young man who was constantly worried about what would happen next. God took care of him as he knew He would. His trust that God’s will would be done allowed him to make rational decisions, without resorting to instinct. It allowed him to remove himself from temptation because he could think clearly at all times, rather than resort to worry. And even though he was thrown in prison (another worrisome situation):
“But Jehovah was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison gave all the prisoners in the prison into Joseph’s hand. And whatever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison did not look to anything under his hand, because Jehovah was with him; and whatever he did, Jehovah made it to prosper” (Gen 39:21-23).
Again, why put a prisoner in charge if they are filled with fear and loathing? A clear thinker is what was needed, and it worked. And Joseph would have plenty of reasons to worry in a prison, especially after the butler failed to tell of the unjustness of his sentence for two years. But this worry is unrecorded. We simply know that upon release, Joseph’s character was shown again and he was promoted to second in the kingdom.
And again, imagine the stress this would cause: you tell the most powerful man in the kingdom, a man who holds your life in his hands and you tell him that in seven years, the worst famine the world had seen would be upon you and immediately you are told: you are in charge of this situation. Make it better and save us all. One might worry. And perhaps there was a twinge of worry in Joseph, a bit of natural anticipation. But his reactions were not of someone who dwelled on such fears. Perhaps Joseph already knew what Jesus said in Luke,
“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you of whom you shall fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear Him” (Luke 12:4-5).
Joseph knew that the only one who had power true power over his life was God and in Him he put his trust. And here is the real reason why I feel Christ said not to worry. Why God has said He will provide. It is to give us time and energy to focus on what He wants us to.
“Yet you say, The way of Jehovah is not fair. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is not My way fair? Are your ways not unfair? When a righteous one turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and dies in them; for his iniquity that he has done, he shall die. Again, when the wicked turns away from his wickedness that he has committed and does that which is lawful and righteous, he shall save his soul alive. Because he looks carefully, and turns away from all his sins that he has committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die” (Ezek 18:25-28).
God makes special mention of “thinking carefully” and not worrying about petty things. We are to think carefully about our actions. Worrying about things that God has said He will provide takes time and effort that should be used in serving Him.
Ask for God’s guidance
And if there are things that worry us, that we cannot let go we are to bring them to God, to ask for His guidance, knowing that He will lead us and provide for us. We can see a clear example of what happens when we do not:
“And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on Jehovah your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped out of your hand. Were not the Cushites and the Libyans a huge army with many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on Jehovah, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro in all the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him. You have done foolishly in this; therefore from now on you shall have wars. And Asa was angry with the seer and put him in a prison-house. For he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time. And behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was diseased in his feet, until his disease was very grievous. Yet in his disease he did not seek to Jehovah, but to the physicians” (2Chron 16:7-12).
Asa worried about many things, as would be expected of a ruler. But he never turned to God. He never consulted with the LORD and let the worry consume him, putting more faith in his own hand than in the LORD’s. We must not do this. Worry comes to us naturally, yet we have a way to deal with and alleviate it by turning to our LORD and seeking His comfort and support.
Joseph knew this, just as Abraham, Jacob, David, Ruth, Moses and so many more would learn this faith and strive to continue it. Just as Christ would do in his life. Because if anyone had reason to feel worried, it was Christ. Christ had no occupation during the three years we read about him. Would it not be possible for him to worry abot food and drink or lodging? We know he did worry about it, at least once in the wilderness, but he did not dwell on the issue.
We know he worried about his safety and showing the people God’s power, but again, he chose not to dwell on such matters of fear but rather focused on his faith in his Father.
We know he worried that God’s plan would not succeed, and perhaps that he would not be able to bear such pain. We know this fear was probably his greatest, the one that lingered in his mind at the very end in the garden. But he would not dwell on that worry. Because that worry would not be his legacy, nor would it assist in God’s plan and purpose.
God is with us
Christ did not allow his worries to rule his life just as we cannot either. Though the world is constantly changing and shifting in sometimes chaotic ways, we must remain firm in our conviction that God is with us. That He wants nothing more than our faithful preparation for that coming day. That instead of fear or worry, we should cling to faith and hope. We have a task to do, to be manifestations of God’s will and purpose on this earth, to lead those who are lost and worried out of the darkness and into the hope of something better.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One