I'm Not Worried About This Message (Part 2)

 Part 2

Yesterday we began a study on the sin of worry, a very common sin among believers, and yet a very deadly sin as well. All too often we don't view this sin as a problem, yet even medical sicence can surmize that many physical and mental illnesses can be directly associated to the side effects of a worrysome person. Part 2 continues today with 1 of 4 reasons why the sin of worry is so wrong (besides the obvious). Please enjoy the read and feel free to comment. If you missed Part 1, please click here.

1. Worry Is Disobedient To Our Master

In Christ concluding words from his previous thought (verse 24) he makes it very clear that God is to be our only Master. And if God is to be our only Master, we are to obey only his commandments. For this reason, we are given the first of three commands to “not worry”. Christians are forbidden, yes, forbidden by the very mouth of Christ to indulge in worry and anxiety. It is foolish and sinful. It disobeys the commandments of our Lord and Savior and, in essence, puts “me” on the throne of my life instead my incredible Savior.

It’s interesting to note how Christ handles this matter in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). You’ll notice that if you look back to the original language, there’s a progression that is implied in Christ’s words throughout this section of verses 25-34. The first command to not worry is here in verse 25. This instance, one of three, implies that worrying is already going on. In this verse’s context it denotes the command to stop your current state of worry without intentions of picking it up again. After all, as stated before, worrying can often become a person’s most treasured pass time in their thought life, manifesting itself in physical ways through depression, medical trauma (psychological disorders, consequences of immorality), etc..

Someone has said, “Worry is a thin stream of fear that trickles through the mind, which, if encouraged, will cut a channel so wide that all other thoughts will be drained out.” Christ says to us in verse 25, “Take no thought for your life” which is an all-inclusive term. The word “life” used here is the word “psuchë” which is a comprehensive term that entails all aspects of a person’s life (emotional, physical, spiritual, mental). Nothing in this life justifies the need to worry. It’s surprising how much a little worry can cause such enormous problems and tragedies in a person’s life. It’s a lot like a dense fog over a city. Science shows that a 100 foot deep fog cloud the size of 7 city blocks can be created by less than a full glass of water (8 oz. on average). A few gallons of water, therefore, could completely cripple a large city.

So also does worry act in the life of a believer. It doesn’t take much, and before you know it, your entire outlook and reasoning skills are saturated in the fog of worry. You can’t see the very hand in front of you for lack of clear vision. God’s omniscience dispels worry. There is nothing that catches God by surprise. In reality, the believer’s sin of worry shows a lack of contentment which is also commanded in Scripture, a quality Paul took comfort in (Phil. 4:11 – “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”)

In verse 25, Christ mentions the very most basic of necessities (food, water, clothing) for daily living. And often as I believe in our Western culture we have these things in such abundance that we don’t truly understand what it mean to want for these types of items. A girl says “I have nothing to wear” as she stares at a closet crammed with clothes. We say “there’s nothing to eat” when what we mean is there’s nothing we WANT to eat. “There’s nothing to drink,” we say although most likely we just don’t want to drink what available.

In Bible times, those things could not be taken for granted. People depended on the natural cycle of growing crops and natural rainfall to subsidize their living. If little snow fell on the mountains, that meant less water in the streams, thus, less water to survive on and feed crops and cattle, ultimately leading to food shortages and other material needs. Literally a simple thing like water could devastate an entire economy. Yet, with this knowledge, Christ said, “Don’t worry about even the basic necessities of life.” God is still in control. He is omnipotent (all-powerful) and our Lord can provide any and every need.

But notice in the last part of verse 25 he says, “Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” In simple terms, Christ is saying to them, and us, “Isn’t there more to life itself than just taking care of your body?” He is right, we live in a culture that is obsessed with taking care of the body (working out, dieting, dressing, plastic surgery). We do so many things to our body, and often times we give too much attention to it. There’s nothing wrong with trying to stay healthy, and get the proper amount of rest, but some literally obsess over their bodies.

In that very thought, “there is more to this life than our bodies” we need to remind ourselves that we cannot and should not live FOR our bodies. Our bodies do not give us any life in and of itself. It is God who gives our bodies life, and the ability for our body to perform any task or function is under his control. God is the source of all life we know of (spiritual, emotional, mental and physical).

And since He is in complete control, He is ruler of all, Christ says to us “Take no thought for your life.” Don’t worry about any aspect of your life. I am on the throne. I care for you. I will provide your needs. Your foolishness of worry will not bring a solution, but a greater destruction in your life.