Worry

 “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 than food, and the body more than clothes? (Matthew 6:25)

 

Yesterday, I listened to a three-part discussion between John Ortberg and another clinical psychologist on this passage, and remembered a time years ago when I realized that I was literally worrying about nothing. I recognized that what I was doing was worrying. I asked myself what I was worrying about - and could not come up with an answer. I was (and am?) so in the habit of worrying that even without a locus, I was just doing what came naturally.

As I’ve shared before, I also tend to worry about “missing my exit” whether on a road trip (thank God for GPSes!) or in life. God has made it clear to me that He won’t let me miss my exit. But I’m in a time of life that feels like I’m trying to figure out what I’m supposed to be when I grow up - and the problem is that I think I have to be grown up. It’s really no different from any other stage of life. It all comes down to trust.

Interestingly, Jesus tells us not to worry about food and clothing. For some people, the worry about food and clothing involves their absence. But that’s not the only way we can worry about them. For some of us, it’s not a matter of physical survival, but of ego. We aren’t satisfied with a cup of coffee, we need something from a coffee shop that requires a paragraph to order. Our food has to be keto, or paleo, or vegan, or gluten free, or cannot be any of those. It has to be cooked just so. And our clothing? We want to dress to impress. We want our clothes to make us feel good, or sexy, or in with the cool crowd.

Whether we are tempted to worry about basic survival. our self-image or our reputation, worrying does us no good. It’s like running on a gerbil wheel or a treadmill, you don’t get anywhere. Far better to pray about the matter and take obvious practical steps toward a solution.