Worry is fear-spread-thin; and fear is the opposite of Love.
(Fear is, indeed, cast-out by Love - and the injunction Not to fear is almost a refrain in the New Testament.)
Yet we can, and many do, spend their entire conscious lives worrying; and if they accidentally stop worrying for a few moments, then they feel guilty - they apparently suppose that the world is being held-up by their worrying.
But this is evil - by which I mean to worry is to Be evil: to spend life worrying is evil, it is a state of sin.
Worry is (therefore) anti-Christian.
But what if I can't Help It! - what when can't help worrying?
Of course you can't help it, neither can I - but that doesn't stop worry being evil - it means we must repent the fact that we worry, instead of feeling guilty if we don't worry.
Worrying about stuff, being worried about 'other people'/ the environment/ poverty/ freedom/ global warming/ disease/ death... this doesn't make you a good person - but the opposite.
Because Fear is A Bad Thing, then it doesn't matter what you fear - choosing a worthy subject for your fears does not change fear into a virtue; any more than it would make resentment or spite into a virtue.
Re-naming fear as 'concern' does not make it good!
The false rationalisation is that Not to worry is to be Uncaring... You've heard this...
Hah! So, if somebody, somewhere, has had or might-have something bad happen to them - then we ought to worry about it! Yeah, right...
It is time for you to stop thinking you have a duty to worry; and instead think about your duty to Be Not Afraid.
4 comments:
Holding to faith in the face of the tidal wave of evil that is engulfing what was once Christendom is hard. What we are supposed to do is understand that our God is fully in control and that what we see unfolding is what has been prophesied centuries ago. But it sometimes seems that there is so little pushback to that wave and what pushback there is appears ineffective.
I believe that the real counter current to the tide of evil is very quiet and largely unnoticed because it is being put into effect one individual at a time and through the efforts of humble and earnest souls who convert others by example and not by grand sermons or public pleas. Broad efforts to get the message out are fine but fade quickly in the face of the massive propaganda that evil is flooding into the world.
Scripture says that many are called but few are chosen. Few choose to be chosen despite the broad call and I believe those few are influenced far more by the example of a truly righteous man or woman going about daily life than by broad appeals.
The difference between worrying and concern is simple.
It's the willingness to accept workable solutions and then move on with life.
If you consistently reject solutions that work in favor of activities that do not actually resolve the problem, then you're choosing to worry.
I think this post is right on.
@DR - Agreed.
@CCL - Agreed.
@Jared - Thanks.
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