Do Not Be Anxious

Do not be anxious

During our family discussions this week, Neville asked me what topic I am going to speak on this Sunday. I told him “Do not be anxious”. He smiled in an all knowing manner and patted my back sympathetically and in a condescending manner. Leslie nodded in approval.

I know the reason for their condescending behaviour.

Yes, I worry. Last couple of months have especially been worrisome for me in the office front. Things have not been going well for me in the office. I worry about that. I worry about my PhD a lot. I worry, if and when, I will ever complete it. I worry about Bangalore Bible Fellowship, about it’s future, about the members who left the church, about the members who are not joining us, about the empty chairs. I worry about my other project called Transition Network, where we are fighting against the corruption issues in the Indian Church. I worry about my lack of time to accommodate all into my schedule. I worry that I am not able do enough for God’s kingdom. I worry that I am not able to do enough for the family. I am anxious every time I have to speak at a function, immaterial of how many times I have spoken on that topic earlier. I am anxious every time I have to deliver a sermon. I am particularly anxious today, because I have to deliver a sermon on “Do not be anxious”.

Yes, I worry. May be I should change the topic of my PhD and just choose to get a PhD in worrying. Will be easier I guess, since I practice it so well.

So the Good news is that you are hearing about worry and anxiousness from an expert.

But I am sure all of you sitting here are different from me. I am sure none of you worry at all. Right?

May be not!! I don’t think I’m alone in the battle of worry. We all worry, don’t we?

• The ignorant worry because they don’t know enough.

• The knowledgeable worry because they know too much.

• The rich worry because they are afraid of losing what they have.

• The poor worry because they don’t have enough.

• The old worry because they are facing death.

• The young worry because they are facing life.

• Parents worry about the children they have

• Childless couples worry about the children they don’t have

• Single men and women worry if they will ever get married

• Married men and women worry thinking why they ever got married

You see, worry is an integral part of humanity. Ever since Adam and Eve started their worry about being naked, sewed fig leaves to cover their nakedness and hid in the bushes to avoid being questioned or punished by God, it has been an integral part of human nature.

Talking about PhD in worrying, did you know that there are people who have actually researched on this topic and come up with interesting statistics?

• 40% of what you worry about will never happen

• 30% of what you worry about or fear are things that happened in the past and can’t be changed

• 10% of what we worry about are considered by most to be insignificant issues

• 12% of what we worry about are issues about our health that will not happen

• This means that 92% of what we fear or worry about will never take place

It should be meaningful to realize that there are only 8% of anything we worry about that can be considered legitimate concerns. The remaining 8% does not get solved by worrying about it either.

Worry is like a rocking chair. It will give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere! Nothing ever gets solved by worrying about it. You and I know it, but yet, we worry. Mark Twain said “I am an old man and I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened”

So how about us, as Christians?. What does the bible tell us? Some one has come up with a statistic that there are 365 times God says, fear not, or do not worry, or do not be anxious etc. in the Bible. Is it not comforting to know that there is a fear not, or worry not, for every day of the year?

Are these statistics enough to tell us that we should not worry? Is once day through out the year, enough for God to tell us that we should not worry? Are there not enough reasons for us not to worry?

But of all the many reasons and statistics that remind me why I shouldn’t worry, none of them cut to my heart like the simple fact that I am insulting God every time I worry.