One of my favorite things to worry about is the future. What is going to happen? Instead of seeing the infinite possibilities of the future as opportunities, I usually see them more like potential hazards coming my way. I try to anticipate all the things that could possibly happen and then plan for them, just to know that I'm ready for whatever does happen.
Jesus has a clear message for people like me.
William Barclay summarizes Jesus' arguments against worry. We have three reasons not to worry:
+Worry serves no purpose and actually does us harm
Worrying doesn’t actually do anything productive; simply worrying does not put food on the table. It can, in fact, do physical and spiritual harm when it eats us away inside and weighs us down with a heavy load
+Worry does not see the whole picture
In the passage, Jesus says, “look at the birds of the air…" and, “see the flower …” because when we worry, we are blind to all of God's good gifts that are around us. When we worry we have tunnel vision, seeing only the cause of our worry and not God's providing care.
+Worry is irreligious
Worry is a choice we make and has nothing to do with outside circumstances. You can see two people in the same situation, one of them may be worried and the other is not. When we make the choice to worry, we make the choice not to trust God. The illusion is that we have ultimate control of our own lives, when in reality there is so much that is beyond our control.
Jesus says not to worry knowing we have plenty to worry about. God has freed us from worry, so why would we live as though God's providing care is not there for us? As if worrying enough will some day make all our worries go away.
May we live in the realm of God's perfect love and someday find there is no room in love for worries.