Why We Shouldn't Worry

The Greek word translated as ?worry? is "merimnaw" which literally means ?to be drawn in different directions.? Worry pulls us apart. It tears us to pieces spiritually, psychologically and physically.

Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster and belief in defeat.Worry is wasting today?s time to clutter up tomorrow?s opportunities with yesterday?s troubles.

Some people are more prone to worry than others. In the mid-1950's, two cardiologists, Milton Friedman and R.H. Rosenman remarked that the primary risk factors of Coronary Heart Disease, i.e. hypertension, smoking, and elevated serum cholesterol, did not explain the vast increase of incidence of the disease occurring in the preceding 50 years. Their research published in 1974 revealed that personality type was a major contributory factor. They divided people into Type A and Type B. They observed that Type A people were more prone to worry than Type B and were also found to be three times more likely to have a stroke or a heart attack than those in the Type B category, even if they did the same sort of work and were living in similar conditions.

It is a medical fact that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers. That is because, as Dr. E. Stanley Jones says, we are not designed to live in fear and worry. To live by worry is against our own nature. That is why worry is so destructive.

1. Worry is to Miss the Point of Life

Life is far more important than material things. So often our worries are about relatively unimportant and trivial matters, such as food, drink, clothing, houses and cars.

If we seek fulfilment in material things we are missing the whole point of life. The point of life is to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Worry misses the point of life.

2. Worry is Illogical

Worry is illogical because it is futile, unproductive and pointless.There is a word of advice in v34: ?therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own?. We do not know what tomorrow may bring, so there is no point in worrying about it. Today is all that we can handle. Why look ahead and worry about things that have not yet happened and may not ever happen. Mark Twain once said, "I?m an old man and I?ve known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.?

We are not capable of handling tomorrow's worries because we have no control over the future and worrying about the future only distracts us from the duties of the present. Today's problems are all we are capable of handling without becoming distracted.

3. Worry is a Complete Waste of Time

Worry Changes Nothing. Worry is useless. It is a futile exercise, a total waste of time, effort, and energy.We cannot add anything to our life by worrying. Worry can only subtract from our lives by causing things like ulcers or a coronary thrombosis. Most things we worry about never happen anyway.

Sir Winston Churchill once said, 'When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his death bed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened.' William Barclay recalls the story of a London doctor who was paralysed and bedridden, but outrageously cheerful. His smile so brave and radiant that everyone forgot to feel sorry for him. His children adored him, and when one of his boys was leaving home, Dr. Greatheart gave him this advice: 'Johnny,' he said, ?please remember the biggest troubles you have got to face are those that never come.' Worry misses the point of life because it is merely a waste of time.

4. Worry is Incompatible with Faith

Faith and anxiety are like fire and water. In our previous church we had a large 8?x4? poster board outside. One of my favourite posters was 'Why pray when you can worry?' Another asked ?Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?? Faith means trust. Trust in God's care and provision. To be a Christian is to walk in a trusting relationship with God. But sin interferes with that relationship and leads to worry.

5. Worry is actually Sub-Christian

Having a primary concern with material needs is the characteristic of unbelievers. Some of these worries may be modest, such as food, drink and clothing. But others are more commonly found in Virginia Water: a bigger house, a new car, a better salary, reputation, fame or power. But all these are pagan because they are self-centered and do not satisfy. An article in the Evening Standard about Chris Evans drives this home. It asked, 'So why isn't this man laughing?' It went on to say why Evans ought to be a happy man. A multi-millionnaire, with cars, homes, girl friends, he nevertheless seemed depressed.

6. Worry is Unnecessary

Worry is actually unnecessary. God promises to provide for our needs if we get our priorities right. Indeed, the Bible is full of such promises. For example, the psalmist says, 'No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless' (Psalm 84:11). The apostle Paul also writes, 'We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.' (Romans 8:28). Sometimes, as Paul knew only too well and Jesus experienced, our situation may be difficult or painful. Yet God will walk with us and hold our hand and use adversity to build our character.

The result may be increased intimacy with God, greater spiritual insight or far deeper faith with which to encourage and affirm others.

7. Worry Contradicts Common Sense

We must learn to live one day at a time. God has given us our lives in units of twenty-four hours and we should take life a day at a time. If we wish to live a long and fruitful life, we should respect and live by the biological clock he has built inside us. Fiona Castle, who had to face the stress of her husband Roy's battle against cancer, wrote this in her book ?Give Us This Day?:

'Recently a friend commented to me that many people live their life as though it were a dress rehearsal for the real thing. But in fact, by tonight, we will have given the only performance of 'today' that we will ever give. So we have to put our heart, our energy and honesty and sincerity into what we do every day. As a show business family, we find that a very suitable illustration. And every show comes to the end of its run, when we must lay aside the costumes and step off the stage, into another, larger world. So as we pray the prayer Jesus taught us, we ask God to 'Give us this day' - thankfully receiving one day at a time - looking to him to sustain us with everything we need, whether it be food, shelter, love of family and friends, or courage and hope to face the future. And at the same time we echo the words of the psalmist: 'This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it' (Psalm 118:24).

8. To anticipate future troubles by worrying about them today is to double them.

9. If we are focused on our fears, we are more likely to crash into them.But "don?t worry" does not mean ?don?t be concerned.?If we are not concerned about our child?s education or health, we are terrible parents. We need to be concerned about some things. Jesus calls us to be carefree not careless.

The author maybe a newbie at publishing articles on the net but not in writing. She has written articles since she was in grade school. Over the years, she's written over 65 poems, 5 essays, 21 short stories, a full-length novel, and a lot of articles just about anything. Indeed, her hand is guided by the Master himself!

Article source: http://www.topiccenter.com/Self-Improvement/Positive-Attitude/