What Do You Worry About?

    Have you ever heard the "talking heads" on the news use that question whenever they interview some political personage?  Have you ever heard friends talk about what's worrying them?  In early March Gallup, conducted a poll on eight so-called "green" issues. Here's the way they posed the question:

"I'm going to read you a list of environmental problems.  As I read each one, please tell me if you personally worry about this problem a great deal, a fair amound, only a little, or not at all.  First of all, how much do you personally worry about ... ?"

    Last Wednesday they published their assessment of the responses.

The Bible tells us not to worry. Jesus Himself gave the following instructions to His disciples:

²⁵"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? ²⁶Look 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? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

 ²⁸"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. [NIV]

    So maybe we shouldn't worry so much about these little things, like whether the planet is about to come apart -- after all, "... your heavenly Father knows that you need [these things]."  Seems to me that when we worry, we're displaying a lack of trust in our heavenly Father.

    God Bless us, every one.  And help us not to worry about such petty, temporal matters, but rather seek the kingdom of God.  After all, eternal life is forever.  Amen?