Worry

It's a word that can be preached on all day long, and people would still go home unsettled.  We worry about everything - food, clothing, stock market, sports' teams, deadlines, quotas, and family members.


As a minister, I get bombarded with different kinds of worries: is so-and-so still coming?  Who will teach?  Or preach? Or lead worship?  How many were in class?  How much money was collected?  The worry engine never quits.


Our adult class has been going through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 on Sunday mornings, and the pinnacle of the sermon centers on three self-giving disciplines that alleviate worry: giving to the needy, prayer, and fasting.  When one practices these three things, worrying seems to be placed on the back-burner because the focus shifts from oneself to others and to G-D.


So, to us worry-warts out there (yes, I am one of you), let's practice giving, praying, and fasting, and then step back and let G-D worry about the rest.  After all, each day has enough trouble of it's own; why add our worries to the list?