Wed, Nov 4th - 10:17PM

The problem of worry.

Does it seem to you that many of today's Christians seem to have a motto of Why trust when you can worry?  Our minds are frequently tired with worry...our spirits are often weighed down.  This worry from yesterday's guilt adds to our anxiety over tomorrow's uncertainties.  We find ways to hide our worry from others.  We even go so far as to find new names for it:  "concerned," "troubled," "disturbed," "interested," and "bothered."  Irregardless of what name we decide to put upon it, this still boils down to worrying; anxiety, mental distress, lack of inner peace, and preoccupied agitation.  How can we battle this issue of worrying?  I want to direct our attention on Christ's counsel, then look at a series of five arguments against worry from out of Matthew 6:25-34.

Worries tend to be in one of three categories:   worry about death(whether your own or of a loved one), worry over guilt, and worry about daily problems.  That last one seems to chew away at most of us in some form.

A biblical perspective:  The word "worry" in our English language does not appear in the text of the King James Bible.  But the concept does.  Such words are used as "anxiety," "care," "trouble," and "concern."  In the New American Standard Bible text of Matthew 6:25-34, the term "being anxious" is utilized to convey the concept of worry, and it is used six times.  This begs the question:  What does it mean to be anxious?

A practical definition:  To be anxious is to be divided or distracted.  The thought is that of being so mentally ill-at-ease that the individual is distracted.  Such people cannot do what they are supposed to do, or may want to do, because they are divided in their thinking.  They experience a lack of focus.  An excellent example of this is Martha in Luke 10:38-42  "Now it came to pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His word.  But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.  And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:  But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."  Here the word used is "cumbered."  Martha was worrying about serving the meal.  She became distracted with all of her preparations.  Mental distraction, or worry, leads to agitation.  It does this because the person with the problem of worry is caught in the middle.  Martha took her agitation to the Lord, seeking His assistance in forcing Mary to come back into the kitchen to help her with serving.  What was our Lord's answer to her?  Did He agree and tell Mary to go and help her sister with serving food to Him?  No, He informed Martha that she was worrying about many things but there was only one "needful" thing:  getting close to God and listening to what He had to say.  Jesus told Martha that this "needful" thing was not going to be taken away from Mary.  Martha needed to stop worrying about "things" and stop, and begin to get closer to God and listen to what He was saying. 

We may very well begin to see ourselves in Martha.  Busy serving our guests at church, unable to pull ourselves away in order to listen to God's Word being preached.  We have too many things to get straight before the service is done!  It must be just right!  Worrying, worrying, worrying!  All the while, God is speaking to those out in the sanctuary and we are missing out on the "needful" thing.  We need to become more aware of what God considers important and focus upon those things rather than become lost in unnecessary busyness while serving our Master.

This is all for tonight my friends.  God willing, I will cover more of this passage in Matthew 6 when this study is picked up once again.  Until then, grace and peace be yours.

~Eric