“And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” – Matthew 6:27
Has your sleep ever been disturbed, as you stayed awake, worried about something that might happen the next day or the next week? Have you ever been exhausted from worry, unable to fully control a situation? Worry is an all-too-common phenomena that causes fear, loss of productivity, and exhaustion, among other things.
Jesus understood the pain that worry can cause a person in life. During the sermon on the Mount, Jesus asks the challenging question, “And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” During this part of the sermon, Jesus compares us to the birds of air and how they have no worry in life and yet God cares for them deeply. The birds serve as an example for those who listen to Jesus. God cares, provides, and the birds are comfortable in their existence God has given them.
Jesus also understood that we, unlike the birds, have a creative imagination that can envision multiple possibilities for the future. This imagination is a gift of God. It is what allows us to paint masterpieces, build skyscrapers, create machines that can fly, and so much more. However, our imaginations can also run a bit wild. Imagination can take the smallest possibility and create a future far from reality. This is where worry comes into our life. Worry emerges from unchecked imagination that is not grounded in the fact that God loves us and cares for us.
This scripture does not say, ‘There is nothing to worry about.’ It does point out that God is present each day of our life. This scripture is a reminder that, in the midst of today’s struggles, God is caring for us. This scripture reminds us that God will be present tomorrow and will continue to provide for us. Worry does not have a place in our faith, because worry uses the gift of God (imagination) while placing our focus on problems instead of the one who is greater than all the possible complications in our lives. Worry does not add to our life; it is God who is the giver of life and the one who helps us to live life to the fullest. Let us focus on the giver of life, not the problems of tomorrow.
– Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
