Sermon "How To Live On Top of Your Worries"
Rev. Lonnie Richardson
Sunday June 1, 1997
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to avillage where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. He hada sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening towhat he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparationsthat had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don'tyou care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lordanswered, "You are worried and upset about many things,butonly one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and itwill not be taken away from her."
Luke 10:38-42
It's 4:30 in the afternoon, dinner which should be ready byfive has not been started, you discover the pantry is empty, thechildren need a bath, the house is a mess, your in-laws are toarrive at any time- you find you have a headache. I recently readthat in 12 months we will use 20,000 tons of aspirin. That's 225tablets per person a year which would suggest that 2/3 of thepeople in America have a headache most of the time. Most of itfrom worry.
Rick Majerus, men's basketball coach at the University of Utah,recently captured a common concern: "Everyone's worriedabout the economy this year. Hey, my hairline is in recession, mywaistline is in inflation, and altogether, I'm indepression."
We are not the first uptight generation. People were anxiousand worried in Jesus' time. While they didn't have the anxietiesof a missed freeway exit, or an ulcer from the Wall Streetstomach. They had their particular struggles.
Jesus had just finished sharing the story of the GoodSamaritan, he and his disciples entered another village where hestayed at the home of Martha. She had a sister named Mary. Marysat at the feet of Jesus to hear him teach. Martha was settingthe table and became disturbed with all the work she had to dowithout her sisters help and said to Jesus ... "Lord, do younot care that my sister has left me to serve alone.? Tell herthen to help me." To this Jesus responds - "Martha,Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thingis needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not betaken away from her." Can you imagine the honor the joy andthe stress in having Jesus as a guest in your home! It is usuallythe little obstacles, and problems which throw the balance oflife in chaos. This seems to have been Martha's problem and kindof uptightness. She allowed the normal stresses of life becomedistresses. Her worries controlled her.
We all worry. Be the causes what they may, we all worry. Ignorantpeople worry, of course they do, they don't know anybetter. Educated people worry, certainly they do, they knowso much to worry about. Nonreligious people worry, because theyhave no faith, no invisible means of support. Religious peopleworry, because they have an inadequate faith. All sorts of peopleworry. We worry about our bodies, we worry about our souls. Weworry about calamities that take place.... We worry far moreabout calamities that never take place!
The most famous insurance company in the world is Lloyds ofLondon. They have made a fortune out of the tendency of people toworry about things that rarely happen. Lloyds of London betspeople that the disasters they are worrying about will neveroccur. They call it insurance. But it is really bettingbased on the law of averages.
There are people here this morning who are cutting off yearsfrom their lives by worry. And you know it, and you worry evenabout that. Few things annoy me as much as the glib advise:"Don't worry." This is especially true when it is saidwith apparent seriousness by a well-meaning physician, orminister, who ought to know better... As though worry could beturned off like a faucet. There preciously is part of thedifficulty, worry is like a faucet whose washer is worn out. Youturn harder and harder without diminishing the drip. Youaggravate worry by worrying about it. The harder we work to shutit off, the greater the leak.
How do you live on top of your worries? Do not suppose thatwhat I am about to suggest will automatically or entirely relieveyou from worry. No one should be entirely relieved. There is ahealthy element of worry in good living. But most worry is sheerwaste and needless agony.
We will be spared much of the worry carnage, if we schoolourselves to leave the past to God! There is a difference betweenliving on the past and living in the past.
Those who live on the past build lesson upon lesson, utilizingformer failures and successes, learning from trials and errors.Those who live in the past, turn back the movement of theirconcern, invert the process of motivation. They have no vitalpresent. For such chronic worries, it is imperative to see thatthe past is the past. It is possessed of a certain finality. Thepast does not equal the future!
We can trust God not only with the unchangeable past, but alsowith the uncontrollable future.
Here is a rule, after you have done all you can about thefuture, when you can do nothing more about tomorrow, turn it overto God. And it works! The Christian faith has endured through thecenturies preciously because it stands up under the tests of suchpractice. Leave the uncontrollable future to God. It is his!
Consequently, the basic principle involved in all this is thatwe should concentrate on the present. Now belongs to us! We arethe now generation. Anything that can be done with regard to thepast or the future, can only be done in the present. God willmake anyone sufficiently who concentrates on immediate tasks.Listen to these words from jesus, ... And why do you worry aboutclothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not laboror spin. Yet I tell you that not even solomon in all his splendorwas dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes thegrass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is throwninto the fire, will He not much more clothe you, o you of littlefaith? (Matthew 6:28-30)
He supplies our every need, not everything we think we need.From God's point of view, if we are to achieve his purposes, Heknows what we need. He will supply our needs sufficiently. Fromour point of view, only one thing is absolutely necessary: thatwe seek earnestly to do his will. We do that by learning to trusthim with our lives.
We do not learn to trust by just trusting, anymore that welearn to play Chopin by sitting down at a piano and just playing.We learn to trust out feet by walking on them. We learn to trustGod by trying him out. By exercising our capacities for trust.Put God at the center of your thought and behavior. Speak to himfrequently, even if you are not sure there is anyone listening toyou. Read about him. Do things for His sake. Make sacrifices onhis behalf. When we do this, we can live on top of our worries.
