`Worry! Champion or Chump?
“I have a mountain of credit card debt”, one man told another. “I have lost my job. My car is being repossessed and our house is in foreclosure, but I am not worried about it”, exclaimed his friend. “No, I’ve hired a professional worrier. He does all my worrying for me, and that way I don’t have to think about it.”
“That’s fantastic! How much does your professional worrier charge for his services?”
“$50,000 a year”, he replied.
“$50,000 a year? Where are you going to get that kind of money?”
“I don’t know”, comes the reply. “That’s his worry.”
Worry affects each and every one of us. If I were to ask by a show of hands who worried about something in their life in the past hour, I wouldn’t be surprised if half of us raised our hands. When you don’t worry about something, it isn’t the same as not taking action. We will see today that worry is something that threatens to destroy each and every one of us. Instead of worry reigning as a champion in our lives, my hope today is that worry will be seen as it really is – a chump!
Let’s pray.
A story is told about a man who came face to face with the dangers of worry:
Death was walking toward a city one morning and a man asked, "What are you going to do?"
"I’m going to take 100 people," Death replied.
"That’s horrible!" the man said.
"That’s the way it is," Death said. "That’s what I do."
The man hurried to warn everyone he could about Death’s plan.
As evening fell, he met Death again.
"You told me you were going to take 100 people," the man said. "Why did 1,000 die?"
"I kept my word," Death responded. "I only took 100 people. Worry took the others."
This interesting tale portrays so well the fact that half of all the people in America’s hospital beds are constant worriers. 43% of all adults suffer health effects due to worry and stress. 75% - 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are stress-related complaints or disorders. Worry has been linked to all the leading causes of death including heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis and suicide. An estimated 1 million workers are absent on an average workday because of stress related complaints. Stress is said to be responsible for more than half of the 550 million workdays lost annually because of absenteeism. 43% of all employee turnover is related to job stress. Mental distress can even lead to death. Add to the list the mental fatigue of nights without sleep and days without peace, and we get a glimpse of the havoc worry plays in destroying the quality and quantity of life.
Today lets look at what Jesus says about worry. Turn to Mathew 6:25. This is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is speaking to a large crowd of people on the mountainside. Verse 25 says, “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 important than food and the body more important than clothes? Jesus makes a bold statement in saying do not worry about your life.
Some of us think, “ I know Jesus said it, but that’s impossible”. Does the fact that Jesus said these things mean that we shouldn’t eat or wear any clothes? Of course not! Jesus is saying that we get so caught up and fret about what we gone wear.
The Greek word translated do not worry literally means “to be drawn in different directions.” Worry pulls us apart. Until we as humans interferes, everything in nature works together, because all of nature trusts God. People, however, are pulled apart because we try to live our lives by depending on material wealth. Jesus was saying God has built into His Creation the means by which all things are cared for. The birds are fed because they diligently work to maintain their lives. They do not store up great amounts of food, but continually work.! The lilies grow daily through a natural process. Therefore an individual need not be anxious about his existence
Life is more important than food or drink and the body more important than clothes. Worrying has a big affect in our world and quite possible here today.
There was a survey taken by USA Today citing major sources of worry. 36% said work is the biggest source of stress – 22% money – 10% children – 7% health – 5% marriage – 5% parents – 5% no stress at all – 19% little stress. You could do this survey in a lot of places and get similar results.
If you decided today “ I’m not going to worry”, many of you equate this with not taking action. For example, if you said I’m not gone worry about what I will eat – what I will wear – my house, my job, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fix you and the kids a meal or that you walk out the house naked or you don’t take care of your house or you just decide that’s it, I’m not going to work tomorrow. No! No! No! Do not worry means that you stop fretting over your life – stop letting all the things in life consume and takeover your mind.
Do not worry about your life. Why? Because verse 26 says “look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” We don’t have to worry about what we’re going to eat because just as God takes care of the bird, our heavenly father will definitely take care of us. God cares for the birds and we are much more valuable than any birds or animal – so God will definitely provide for his children. We don’t have to worry because God promises to take care of our needs.
It humbles me to think that I sometimes check the fridge and the cabinets talking about “Man it ain’t nothing to eat”. Anybody else ever said that? We have more in a day than some people have all month. Some know the true reality of God providing daily bread, but we worry and fret when we have food all over the place. I am going to make a conscious effort to be more thankful for what I have and even more thankful for who provides it – our heavenly father.
Verse 28-29 says “And why do your worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin, yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. So don’t worry whether it’s Goodwill, Value City, Nautical, Tommy Hilfiger, but be thankful that God is a God who cares and provides for all your needs. God takes care of his little children. We don’t have to worry because God provides for us.
God feeds the birds and clothes the lilies. He will feed and clothe us. It is our “little faith” that hinders Him from working as He would. He has great blessings for us if only we will yield to Him and live for the things which truly count. Lilies grow from a deep root. The roots are where they belong, in the soil to receive nourishment. The roots of believers are not to be in the material things of this earth. In order to receive their nourishment and fulfill their purpose on earth, believers are to put their roots where they belong, in God and His righteousness.
Jump back to verse 27. “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life. This is another reason not to worry because the bottom line is that worrying changes nothing. If you worry, it cannot control the outcome
There was a family traveling out of town for vacation. As they were traveling down the highway, the mother remembered that the family had traveled this highway two years ago when they went on vacation. She recalled a certain place where they were detoured as a major bridge was out along the way so for the next hour she worried the family and herself about how they would be delayed because of the bridge being out. She kept going on and on “I hate that we will get delayed because the stupid bridge is out”. As the family neared the bridge, there was a sign that read “Newly Constructed Bridge – Open for Your Convenience”. Whether the bridge was out or not was affected by the mother’s worrying.
Someone here may have a child that has decided to go his or her own way and live a destructive lifestyle. Your worrying won’t change the outcome. We may have a sick family member, but worrying is not going to change the outcome. You may be afraid and worried because you’ve heard rumors of your employer downsizing. Worrying will not change the outcome. Who of you by worrying can change any situation in your life? It will not change the outcome, but it will change you! Page 801 (ulcers, tumors).
Another thing that worry does is put us in the same category as those who don’t know God because in verse 32 it reads that the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them. The pagan or the person who doesn’t know God lives in a way in which he relies on himself. When we start fretting and worrying about what are we going to eat, what are we going to wear, how are we going to make it, I need this, I need that, we sound like the person who relies on himself instead of God. Worry is, and always will be, a fatal disease of the heart – for its beginning signals the end of faith. Worry intrudes on God’s compassionate ability to provide. When we allow our problems to overshadow God’s promises, we unknowingly doom ourselves to a defeat that was never part of God’s eternal plans. If you know Jesus Christ today you are to look and live differently than one who doesn’t know God. Christians and non-Christians get the same challenges, trials and illnesses because I believe that God wants to show the world that a Christian lives and responds differently to the worries and challenges of this life. The believer responds by resting and relying on God to provide no matter the circumstances.
How do we get relief? No R-O-L-A-I-D-S! But verse 33 says, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added as well”.
The word “seek” (zeteo) means to seek; to go after; to strive; to pursue; to desire; to aim at; to search for; to endeavor to get. The believer’s life is not to be preoccupied with material things, as necessary as some things are. The believer is first of all to be seeking after the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
We are to look to God first and all our needs will be provided for. The reason we have so many worries is because we’re seeking everything but God first. We are too concerned about what does the bank account say, what does the doctor say, what does the horoscope say, what does the boss say. We need to be concerned about what God wants us to do and be and then, and only then, can we have the right perspective on our lives.
This means time for prayer and reading the Word. We will put God first in every week, attending the house of God faithfully. It means sincerely desiring to grow in the Lord by making Life-Sharing, Sisters in the Lord, Pioneers and Men Who Excel to our schedules on an ongoing basis. We will put God first every payday, paying the tithe to the Lord. We will put God first in our choices, making no decision that would leave God out.
Verse 34 says “therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”. This verse tells us that we don’t have to worry about tomorrow as tomorrow will get here when it gets here – but there are enough trials and troubles we will have to face today. By God’s grace, we need to deal with what is before us today. Note that it doesn’t say for us to worry about today either, but God is saying why look ahead and worry about things that haven’t yet happened and that you can’t even control because you don’t know if you will make it through this day.
When we are tempted to worry about things in our life, we need to also look at Philippians 4:6 – it reads “ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God”. We need to be praying about every need, situation and problem in our lives. Soon as you hear the rumor on the job, hit your knees when fear and worry creep up about losing your job. Soon as you hear the news of some health problem, hit your knees. When you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, hit your knees. God is willing and able to take care of us.
I can remember several things in my life when, instead of worrying and getting anxious, I hit my knees – young and getting married – getting first apartment – getting my first job out of college – God has always provided.
During my 4th grade swimming class, I talked a big game about being this great swimmer, but when we were tested, I embarrassed myself because I couldn’t swim at all. What happened is that I boasted as a champion swimmer, but I was really a chump! That’s how worry is – it boasts a big game, claiming to be a champion, but is nothing more than a chump. Brothers and sisters, don’t let worry defeat you.
Result in verse 7 “And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. As a result of giving your cares to God, you can get peace of mind. There’s nothing like peace of mind. You also stay healthier, physically and mentally because God guards your heart and your mind. You want peace and freedom from worrying, give all your cares to Jesus. In a sense, we do have a professional worrier, like the man in the story, because 1Peter 5:7 says cast all your worries on God, because he cares for you. Jesus wants us to give him every worry and concern because he is able to give us everything we need for each and every situation – give it to Jesus! To get hooked up with this professional worrier – the cost is absolutely free – All you have to do is give him your cares and concerns and he will take care of you. Release the regrets of yesterday, refuse the fears of tomorrow and receive instead, the peace of today. Yes, my friend, simply let go and let God.
Worry is no match for Jesus. My hope is that we will give our worries over to the real champion – Jesus Christ!
