WORRY AND SMALL STUFF

Matthew 6:34
So don’t worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will bring it’s own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Growing up we weren’t allowed to get up from the dinner table until we had eaten everything on our plate. After all, there were children going hungry somewhere in the world who would love to have the food we were trying to leave on our plate. Needless to say, we sat there and ate every last bite so that we could be excused to go play.

Luke 12:22-23
Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life - whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing.

So why was Mom so worried all the time about us eating everything on our plate or how we were dressed? It states right there in Luke not to worry about it.

My parents, born in 1937, the end of the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II, came from large families and endured numerous hardships during their young lives. They didn’t want my brother and I to go through the same struggles, so they worried constantly. They worried if they were good parents, if they were providing enough for us, and if we had everything we needed. They worried when we were sick, when we were sad or hurting, and no matter how old we get, our parents never stop worrying about us. As adults now, we worry about our parents.

Luke 12:25-26
25) Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
26)And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things.

The same goes for all of us (after all, we learn from our parents) – we worry. It’s just a natural thing to do. Perhaps because the world has changed, the challenges we face have become more daunting. There’s more violence and drug use in our society today than there was in our parents’ time. We have to worry more about our children and grandchildren than ever before. Our parents never had to worry about internet predators, who would have ever thought we would need to. I never would have thought I would have to worry about telemarketing scams and fraud. Even children worry today – they worry about making friends and fitting in, about school and whether or not they’ll make the team, and about whether or not their parents are proud of them.

I think sometimes we worry so much that we forget to enjoy life. We forget to be happy, to smile, to breathe. There is a magnet in my kitchen that I pass multiple times a day that says “Worrying does not empty tomorrow of it’s trouble, it empties today of it’s strength.”

Back in 1997 there was a book that came out that was all the rage, everyone was reading it, including me. It was called Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff….and it’s all small stuff. On the cover it states - Simple ways to keep the little things from taking over your life.

It was meant to encourage people to focus on what truly matter in life and not stress over things that were insignificant or out of our control. Worrying about minor irritations such as that person that just cut you off in traffic isn’t worth getting worked up over. Why let that one person ruin your drive into work. Is it healthy for you to worry about the outcome of a meeting that is a week away? Does it matter that your granddaughters has on two different colors of socks and neither one matches the outfit she is wearing? Does it matter that you didn’t get the yard mowed today? No, no, and no. Stop worrying . Your worry is emptying today of it’s joy and besides, God’s got this.

Luke 12:31
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.