AT THE HEART OF WORRY
Worry and stress have become ubiquitous in today’s world and with adverse consequences for one’s health and well-being. Jesus addresses this and begins with a critical statement that takes us to the heart of worry.
“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 than food, and the body more than clothes? (Matthew 6:25)
Most of life is spent in the pursuit of satisfying one’s appetites. This can take the form of food, companionship, career advancement, knowledge, popularity and so on. While these make life rich and meaningful, these appetites can also overwhelm a person if one fails to recognize that life is more than one’s appetites. Jesus elsewhere states, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). So how exactly is life more than food or one’s appetites?
For most, life is a sum of one’s appetites. When life is defined as such, by the sum total of all that can be gained through one’s appetites, life begins to revolve around these. When the focus of life is turned as such, worry inevitably creeps in because man’s finiteness prevents him from guaranteeing the continuation of all that he seeks or currently enjoys. And Jesus draws our attention to the fact that life is much more. We are physical-spiritual beings and life is the miraculous infusion of the eternal soul-spirit into a physical body. We originate from God and at the conclusion of our lives here on earth, will return to God. Human life is primarily sustained by energizing the spiritual element of our lives. How does this happen? Entering into a relationship with God exclusively through faith in Christ and continuing to live a life of union with God through the indwelling presence of Christ within. When fulfillment of our appetites thereby takes on a secondary role, worry ceases.
Jesus also states, ‘…. the body is more important than clothes’. ‘Clothes’ herein refer to the appearance we desire to project to others. Multiple billion-dollar industries would not exist if the outward appearance had not become so pathologically important to man. Jesus reminds us that our bodies do not belong to us, but to God. The right attitude toward our bodies should be one that recognizes our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit and wherein our bodies are members of Christ Himself, as the Bible states elsewhere. What follows is a sense of deference to our bodies without becoming narcissistic, so that the focus will no longer be on how we appear to others, rather on whether we are able to use our bodies to honor God, who lives within. Some buy cars or houses primarily on how they look, whereas it is far more prudent to purchase based on how they function to meet out daily needs. Appearance no longer is relevant after a few days, whereas utility is always important.
At the heart of worry is a distorted view of the world.
