Don't worry - be happy

Two Sundays ago (24 Jan) at CBC, as a part of our ‘Kingdom of God’ series, Toby shared from Jesus’ words in Matthew 6 which in my Bible are headed ‘Do not worry’. If you’re part of a home group and have already looked at this section then you will have thought a bit about what Jesus does and doesn't mean when he says ‘do not worry’. How Paul can, on the one hand say, ‘do not be anxious about anything’ but on the other hand have his own anxieties and worries?

(You will find the home group notes here - the notes you’re looking for are HG 03.)

It would certainly seem as if worry and anxiety are on the increase. The latest edition of the Evangelical Alliance magazine IDEA includes a range of articles related to this issue. In an article on Stress, Wellbeing and the Church, Andrew Parnham writes,

You probably don't need me to tell you that stress is a major cause of unhappiness in our nation. It's the most common cause of longterm sickness absence and 52 per cent of workers say that stress is increasing.

You can read the full article here.

I know that you can use statistics to prove anything but if you consider the amount of money and time that big business is investing on dealing with stress amongst employees they obviously think it is a growing issue. Or maybe they're simply trying to find a way to reduce the stress that they are causing in the first place - realising that people are not machines and you can't simply demand more and more of them without something breaking along the way (but that's another story).

Toby helpfully pointed out what Jesus was not saying in Matthew 6, and what Jesus was saying.

It is on the things that Jesus did say that I want to focus here. In particular I want to go off on a slight tangent and think about what Jesus said in terms of modern (and not so modern) de-stress techniques.

For example, if you look on the NHS website at stress or worry you don't have to read too far before you come across links to practices such as meditation, Mindfulness, tai-chi or yoga, or articles on the value of positive thinking, or the use of apps such as Headspace.

So, where am I going?

Many of these practices, some of which have their roots, (and in some cases a lot more than just their roots), in philosophies that are incompatible with Christianity, do, as we shall see in a minute, encourage practices that are similar to those that Jesus is teaching here. 

Some people look at this and conclude that being a Christian is good for your health because it promotes practises that are medically proven to be good for your physical and mental wellbeing - i.e. it has nothing to do with God. They see Christian discipleship as something that 'works' only because it ticks a range of boxes that meet our physical, spiritual and emotional needs. So, we feel better when we pray or come together as church - but we'd feel equally better if we'd been to a meditation class or sung in a community choir.

A more biblical way to look at this is to recognise that we were created by God, and God therefore knows what is best for us. Therefore it makes sense to listen to our creator when we think about the lifestyle choices we are making on a daily basis. And therefore rather than thinking about a Christian lifestyle simply being one amongst a range of healthy options - we see the life of a Christian disciple as the best way to live life. The alternatives to this way of life, however similar they are in places, are at best a pale reflection of the truth - accessing part of the truth but not the whole truth - and at worst a dangerous lie.

So what did Jesus say? Toby brought out five points from the passage.

Remember the other aspects of life

Jesus reminds us that life is more than what we will eat or drink or wear. [It is important to remember that Jesus is not talking about the legitimate concern to provide for one's daily needs - Jesus is not so much talking to those who don't know where their next meal is coming from, but to those who can't decide which outfit to put on in the morning.]

There is a danger that we spend so long worrying about decisions that are of little or no real consequence that we miss so many things that we have to be thankful for. We stress over what to wear when we could be thanking God for all that we do have. 

One of the reasons that people like Mark Zuckerberg wear the same thing to work everyday is to free up time to think about important stuff and not get bogged down in decisions about what to wear and what cereal to have for breakfast.

It is widely acknowledged that developing a 'gratitude attitude' is a good thing for your health. Being thankful. 

If you're following the Read Scripture plan you will have already discovered this attitude in our daily reading of the Psalms. The Psalms we've read so far are often a mix of highs and lows - but even at the low points the writer chooses to remind himself of God's goodness and to give thanks and praise to God. It is a conscious decision, in the darkness, to reflect and respond to God's goodness and love. Today's reading (Psalm 32) starts with the words, 'blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered'.

Being thankful, as a Christian, takes my thoughts off of myself and my problems and focuses them on God. Focusing on God is always a good place to be. It helps to put things into perspective. Throughout generations the practice of Christian disciples has been to read and pray the Psalms. To create space and an attitude of turning to God and thanking him for his goodness and love.

This post is already a lot longer than I thought it would be - so I'm going to finish there and come back to this later in the week, with Toby's other points: Look at the bigger picture, You are extremely valuable, God looks after you and Focus on the present.