HOW MUCH BETTER ARE YE THAN THE FOWLS? (Part 1)
It is often the case that mankind is a worrisome creature. As part of God’s marvelous creation, we are the only beings who fret and express anxiety and worry. We worry about our health. We worry about our finances. We worry about the weather. We worry about what the neighbor next door is going to do with his property. We worry about everything imaginable. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus deals with the subject of worry (Matt.6:25-24). As he is teaching his followers about the futility of undue anxiety, he turns our attention to the birds of the air and the grass of the field: “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?…Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:26, 28-29). The futility of worry is clearly spelled out in these words of our Savior.
WORRY ACCOMPLISHES NOTHING GOOD
Undue anxiety is unproductive. “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” (Matt.6:27). When did worrying about your finances ever put money in your bank account? When did fretting over the state of your health ever actually improve your physical, emotional, or mental well-being? Have you ever known of someone who was concerned about their height worrying themselves into growing a foot taller? Worry accomplishes nothing beneficial in our lives. As a matter of fact, worry can and often does accomplish only evil or harmful things. Much of the illness and sickness that we suffer in this life is brought about by stress and worry. When we realize that worry and anxiety are completely unproductive, perhaps we can then formulate a plan to deal with the stresses of life. Those things about which we so often worry fall into one of two categories: there are those things about which we can do something, and then there are those things about which we can do nothing. Separate all of your anxieties and fears into these two classifications. Those things that rest within your ability to control should be acted upon. If something can be done to alleviate our worries, then why not act so that the worry may be diminished or eradicated? Most of those things about which we worry fall into the latter category. They are events that lie outside the realm of our ability or control. It is the height of foolishness to fret over those things that we can do nothing about! Yet, how many people worry about the crash of the stock market, or losing their lives to the violent actions of a terrorist, or so many other things that are not within our power? The Christian has a place to deposit these cares and anxieties: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Pet.5:7). Turn those things over which you have no power over into the hands of Him who has power over all things!
-Patrick Morrison
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