Don’t Be Such a Worry Wart

I remember years ago we would have some skits or have a puppet show during Vacation Bible School and one of the characters was named Worry Wart. The guy just worried all the time about everything.  Many of us are like that. And many of us have come to the conclusion that all the worry about a particular something did absolutely nothing for us – at least in a positive sense.

Worry – it’s undue anxiety, a constant churning of thoughts of despair, being fretful. Those are some of the definitions for the word. None of that is positive – so do yourself a favor and stop it – I know, easier said than done. I

n most instances worry is way out of proportion to the actual reality of the situation – and that causes a problem or problems – mostly because it becomes a difficult to reign in. A wise proverb says, “Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.”

Another problem that develops from being a Worry Wart is – a person becomes distracted. It is simply hard to concentrate when you are worried and it is hard to deal with folks in kind and friendly manner while in this state. Worry robs us of the energy we need to apply to our everyday or every week responsibilities.

Worry also keeps us from being productive – whether it is our job, schoolwork or the Lord’s work. When we are worrying we are neglecting our duties. Warren Berkley, who penned a bulletin article that I recently ran across and was the inspiration for this blog post, wrote this in regard to worry. Worry has never paid a bill, or put a meal on the table. It has never cured a serious illness, but has caused many. Worry has never solved a marriage problem, or successfully raised a child. It has never prevented a church problem, or solved a personal conflict. Worry has never united a church, converted a sinner, or brought back an apostate. It has never repaired a car, fixed the plumbing or reversed the aging process. It has never added one cubit unto the measure of man’s life (Matthew 6:27).

Worry also indicates a lack of trust in God – this by far is the worst problem with being a Worry Wart. Jesus taught in Matthew 6 that worry was futile. He tells not to do it (Matthew 6:25, 31, 34).

He explains to us that God, our Heavenly Father, knows what we need and that we need to put Him first and everything will be taken care – Matthew 6:32-34). In making God first – we are showing trust in Him, which is exactly what He wants us to do – be totally dependent upon Him. By worrying, we are placing ourselves in direct contradiction to our claim of trust in Him.

Matthew 6 also reveals one of the triggers to worry – money! Going to back to Brother Berkley, he writes in regards to money and worry, “Surely, we need to realize that money can be an excellent servant but is a horrible master.” Very profound statement right there. See Psalms 127:2 and 39:6.

The answer of course is placing our trust in God. Psalms 37:5 says that if we commit to the Lord and trust in Him, He shall bring it to pass.

So, with all of this being written – let’s stop being Worry Warts shall we.