Tag: Religion

Worry: Its Causes and Solutions

 

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34

Worry is a problem brought about by our relationship to the things of this world and of this life. It does not matter whether one has an abundance of worldly goods, or the lack of it, both conditions lead to worry; no one is immune from this vexation.

Worry can be considered as a failure to apply our faith; however, delving further into this problem reveals that worry is in itself a definite entity, a tremendous power that grips and takes control of us. It is an active force, and failure to recognize this facet can lead to defeat. It is almost similar to a personality that takes hold of us, in spite of ourselves, and keeps arguing with us. It leads to this curious perverse condition where one almost does not want to be delivered from it. Worry has an active imagination; it can conceive all sorts of strange eventualities and possibilities and by its power, transports us into the future, making us troubled by things that are purely imaginary.

How can we address worry?

First, consider what the Lord said about the folly of being anxious: worrying about the future is utterly useless because it achieves nothing; it is a pure waste of energy, and its threatened calamities are hypothetical, uncertain, and may not happen at all. Moreover, the result of worrying about the future cripples us in the present; we hamper our effectiveness today, and therefore diminish the totality of our effectiveness with regard to the future.

Second, Jesus says every day must be lived in and of itself, as a separate unit. Each day has a quota of problems; we must not add tomorrow’s quota to today’s, or it would be too much for us. We are to live each day to the maximum.

Third, just as we compartmentalize our lives into each twenty-four hour period, we are to apportion our whole relationship to God in the same manner. Oftentimes we fall into the jeopardy of believing God for the whole of our lives, but not believe Him for the particular segments in our lives. We must learn to walk with God daily, rely on Him daily, and take things to God as they arise.

Fourth, we are to apply our faith. Just as the psalmist talked to himself and reasoned with himself, we are to talk to ourselves and to our faith; we shake and remind ourselves about our faith in God. Furthermore, a large part of faith is just rejecting anxious thoughts, refusing to be burdened by worry because we have cast our burden upon the Lord.

May the Lord give us the wisdom and grace to carry out these principles to cease from worrying, enabling us to rejoice in Him every day of our lives.

*** Reference: David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Studies in the Sermon on the Mount”, Martino Publishing, CT, 2011, pp. 146-157.

*** Photograph: Storm Watchers by Jean Winters Olkonen

How to Follow the Golden Rule

” because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” Romans 8:21

My previous post expounded upon how the Golden Rule is the quintessential summary of the law and the prophets.  Such exposition would not be complete without considering why, after the Golden Rule has been before mankind’s face for over two thousand years, multitudes still do not follow it.  The problem of human relationships is raging as ever now in modern times as it was the very first time the Lord first introduced this glorious principle.

Why do human beings abandon this lofty rule for living? Why are there ongoing disputes between and among nations, in families, and at the cellular level, between two people?

The reason is biblical and theological.  One of the fundamental statements of the gospel is that man is sinful and perverted.  Everything can be brought down to one word: “self”.  Loving our neighbor as ourself is the one thing we do not do because we love self so much in a distorted and excessive way, that it is difficult to apply the Golden Rule.  Man is selfish by nature.

How then can one follow the Golden Rule?  The gospel solution starts with God: to start with the greatest commandment to “love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength”.  We start with God, not with our neighbor.

We turn from all our human relationship problems, the disputes and quarelling,  and we turn to God, and look into His face.  We see Him in all His holiness, His greatness, His almightiness and creative power, and humble ourselves before Him. The knowledge of God brings the realization of our poverty of spirit, our unworthiness, and of our utter need of Him.  In turn, we see other people as ourselves,  no longer as our competitors trying to beat us out in our worldly endeavors, but as victims like us, of sin and of the god of this world. We are both in the same predicament of overwhelming helplessness, that together we must run to Christ and avail ourselves of His wonderful grace of salvation.

It is when we have been delivered from the captivity of self that we are able to love our neighbor as ourselves, and we begin to enjoy the “glorious liberty of the children of God.”

*** Reference: David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Studies in the Sermon on the Mount”, Martino Publishing, CT, 2011, pp. 211-216.

*** Photography: Sunrise by Giangiorgio Crisponi