Wondering Why We Waste Energy on Worrying

One of our favorite national pastimes, it seems, is worrying. Baseball season may be right around the corner, with its balls and strikes, home runs and shutouts, but it’s worry that occupies so much of our waking moments. 

 

We worry about everything: We worry about the economy, the possibility of a new pandemic, the likelihood of war, the weather, the environment, and the direction our nation and the world are headed. We worry about whether we’ll have enough money to pay the bills this month, what we’ll do if we lose our job, what if that bothersome ache is more than just an ache, what those tests the doctor ordered will show. We worry when our new teenager driver is out driving. We worry about getting old – or older.

 

It wasn’t that long ago that we found ourselves worrying about shortages of toilet paper, eggs and other essentials. Some folks, it seems, even worry about whether the sun will come up tomorrow morning. And when we have nothing to worry about, we worry about that.

The “benefit” of worry is it gives us a sense that even when circumstances seem out of control, at least we’re doing something – worrying. But in reality it accomplishes little – if anything – other than to keep us in a state of anxiety and dis-ease. 

 

Not only that, but as experts tell us, 90 percent of the things we worry about never happen. There have been times when I’ve looked at my schedule for the day and worried about how I would ever get everything done. As the day wore on, however, I would find that some items on my to-do list took less time than anticipated. One or two meetings were rescheduled. Suddenly I found myself with time on my hands – with nothing to worry about. 

 

Have you ever stopped to consider how much mental and emotional energy are expended when we worry? It causes us to lose focus and be distracted. Self-induced stress can take a physical toll on our bodies and our health. Ah, something else to worry about, right?

 

As we read the Scriptures, we find many teachings with worry. Basically, we’re told, “Don’t do it!” One particularly strong verse is Philippians 4:6, which says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God.” The next verse tells us what will happen as a result: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

In other words, instead of harboring our worries inside, letting the stress eat at us, entrust those things we’re concerned about to God and entrust Him with it. That’s what faith is all about – believing that the Lord is fully able to deal with our troublesome issues, usually in ways far beyond anything we could have conceived. This is why 1 Peter 5:7 admonishes us, with great confidence, to “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

 

We could review many other passages, but there’s no better authority to consult than Jesus Christ, who addressed the troubles of His hearers in the Sermon on the Mount. He said: 

“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? 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? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?... 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” (Matthew 6:25-29).

 

Jesus gave other examples of God’s faithful provision and then concluded His exhortation, noting that many of our worries are focused on the unknowns of the future: “But seek first [God’s] kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 7:33-34).

 

Think about it: Good parents might not fulfill every want a child has, but they won’t fail to meet every need. Our heavenly Father knows about everything we need, every problem we will ever encounter. He’s a good Father – the very best Father. Because of that we can trust Him with our worries, and rest in Him.

Forget the Resolutions. Let’s Establish Some Goals

Just a couple weeks ago, sports fans all around the world were glued to their TVs with a single word in their minds. World Cup soccer matches were the rage on every continent, and the commentators sat on the edge of their seats waiting for the magic moment when the ball would spin past the goalie and they could scream with full lung capacity, “Gooooooooooooal!”

 

I must confess that I didn’t watch a minute of the much-hyped World Cup competition. If you’re a fan, go ahead, hate me. Unless I’m watching one of my grandkids play what we Americans know as soccer, I’ll take American football over the global game of “futbol” any day. I did hear that the championship game was kind of messy – or was that, Messi, as in Lionel? (I’m not totally ignorant of the sport.)

 

I do share one thing with what’s commonly referred to as “the beautiful game.” I, too, am a big fan of goals, except mine come with objectives and timelines to guide me along the way. This time of year, when many folks are talking about making resolutions – translation, “Well-intended sentiments that I know there’s probably no chance I’ll keep” – I choose to make goals.

What’s the difference? A resolution is something like, “I’ll quit eating junk food,” or “I’ll never drive over the speed limit again,” or “I’m resolved to work out at least four times a week next year.” Great intentions. Noble thoughts. But by the end of the first month, if not sooner, those resolutions most likely will be shattered like a fine crystal glass meeting a hammer.

 

Goals, on the other hand, are targets we can work toward over time. They are quantifiable, measurable, and attainable. Goals serve as the answer to questions like, “Where am I going?” “How am I going to get there?” and “How will I know when I’ve arrived?” They can help to ensure we’re making the proper use of our time, talents and resources.

 

I’ve found it helpful to make categories for goals, including physical, mental, spiritual, social, vocational, financial, and avocational (hobbies). Some of my past goals have been: going to the fitness center three times a week; losing 15 pounds by mid-year; reading 20 books, including the Bible, over the course of one year; paying off a credit card balance within a certain period; having a weekly date night with my wife; memorizing a new Bible verse each week; and starting to take drum lessons.

 

Resolving to become a better husband certainly seems like a good idea, but how will I know if I’ve accomplished that? Setting a goal – or goals – to guide me in that direction is a better approach.

 

As I read the Scriptures, I find a number of worthwhile goals to strive toward, such as, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands…so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). But how do we achieve that? We can establish some reasonable goals to help us go beyond just high-minded intentions. For some, this might be as simple as getting a job and sticking with it. Maybe even finding an accountability partner or two to remind us to follow through on goals we have set.

 

My life verse, adapted from the Amplified Bible’s translation of Philippians 3:10, states, “My determined purpose is that I may know Him (the Lord), that I may progressively become more intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly.” But how do I do that? 

 

I can set goals to spend a certain amount of time each day reading and meditating on the Scriptures, along with time for prayer; participating in Bible studies and discussions with like-minded believers; attending worship services regularly; and talking with others about my faith, not only evangelistically but also in discipling or mentoring relationships. As one translation of Philemon 6 states, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” If we desire for God to entrust us with more spiritual riches, we should be faithful to use what He’s already given to us.

 

How can we know that the Lord approves of the goals we set? The Scriptures tell us this starts with ensuring our hearts are right toward Him. Psalm 37:4 declares, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” If our motives flow from our love for God, He’ll impress upon us what our desires should be.

 

Jesus referred to this in His “sermon on the mount.” Speaking to the assembled multitude, He said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:21,33).

Hope this is helpful. Now, it’s time to start establishing my own goals for the new year. 

The Problem With Taking Things for Granted

Quite a few years ago, before the shattering of the Iron Curtain and the disunifying of the Soviet Union, a friend in Atlanta hosted two Russian visitors. As hosts often do when people come to visit from out of town, my friend wanted to introduce his guests to some of the local sites. One of the destinations was a huge, indoor shopping mall.

 

“Who doesn’t like a trip to the mall?” he thought. Well, he found out. The Russians, accustomed to long food lines and sparse store shelves in their home country during Communist rule, went out of curiosity but quickly experienced sensory overload.

 

After about five minutes, the visitors rushed up to their hosts and insisted, “We must go now.” “But we’ve just gotten here,” my friend protested. “No,” one of the men repeated, “We must go. Too much – too much!” Trying to comprehend the material abundance everywhere they looked had overwhelmed them.

I was reminded of this while viewing a video produced by PragerU, a conservative non-profit devoted to teaching about the values that make America great. In the video, an immigrant from Cuba goes to Walmart  for the first time. In the grocery section, he’s amazed at both the array and size of the fresh produce. He picks up an onion about the size of a baseball in disbelief.

 

The newcomer to the U.S.A. next goes to the small appliance section, and then the toy department where he marvels at the many dolls on display. How would his daughter react if she saw this, he wonders. As the Cuban speaks on the video, you can see astonishment in his eyes. There was nothing like this in his homeland.

 

By comparison, how do lifelong Americans react in similar circumstances? We’re more likely to respond with a shrug, oblivious to the abundance all around us. I’ve actually felt a bit annoyed at times by having some many choices: Going into a paint store and discovering hundreds of different shades of…white, or blue, or green. Or walking down a grocery store aisle and encountering 55 varieties of baked beans – in sizes ranging from single-serving to “big enough to feed an army.” Why so many?

 

Remember the great toilet paper panic of 2020? (Who can forget, right?) In two blinks of an eye, the shelves went from stacks and stacks of TP to absolutely bare, causing some to consider subscribing again to the daily newspaper – just in case they ran out and needed an alternative. The crisis got so urgent that Mr. Whipple nearly came out of retirement to hawk his hoarded supplies of Charmin.

 

Such is the blessing – and the curse – of living in a prosperous nation. We can easily grow complacent, taking for granted our access to goods that people in many other countries can find only in their dreams. 

 

Maybe that’s why one of the virtues so rare in our society is contentment. Our desire for more seems limitless. Too much is never enough. Meanwhile, folks from other nations who visit – or just watch American programs on TV – find such abundance unfathomable.

 

I’m not suggesting we should go on a collective guilt trip, but maybe it’s time we started to gain some perspective. In a letter of exhortation to his young protégé, Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote, “godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

 

In this same passage we read, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Some have incorrectly quoted this as “the love of money is the root of all evil,” which it doesn’t say at all. But as Paul concludes his thought, “Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

 

Perhaps the greatest problem with material abundance – excess – is that it deceives us into trusting our own self-sufficiency. Which in turn diminishes our sense of dependence upon God. Jesus spoke about this, chiding His hearers for worrying about their daily needs:  

“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? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?... For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:25-33).

 

In one sense, it’s wonderful to know we live in a society where we typically don’t have to worry about whether we’ll find a loaf of bread to buy when we go to the store. But it might be good to occasionally see things as folks visiting from other less “blessed” lands. Wouldn’t it be something to go to a mall and suddenly decide, “Too much!” and return home, happily content with what we have and not feeling an urge to acquire more?