According to the National Institute of
Mental Health, “Anxiety has become the number one mental health issue in North
America. Approximately 18.1 percent or
40 million adults between 18 and 54 are affected by anxiety disorders.” That is a staggering fact. So staggering that one individual stated that
“anxiety is the new base line in the symphony of life.”
Years ago, concerned with all the people
in his life who seemed to be anxious, singer/songwriter Bobby McFerrin wrote a
song you probably remember . . . what they call an earworm:
Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy
Worry . . . anxiety . . . is a major
problem. As I stated at the start, it
effects nearly one in five Americans. It
is reported by the Journal of Clinical
Psychiatry that anxiety disorders
cost the United States more than $42 billion a year, almost one third of the
$148 billion total mental health bill for the United States. Worry and anxiety is a problem that hurts
people physically, mentally, spiritually, and financially. It cripples people from achieving their hopes
and dreams . . . of becoming who God created them to be.
It is no wonder then that even in Jesus’
time, he recognized the problem of worry and anxiety. He recognized its debilitating effect upon
the lives of people to keep them from fully living life as God intended them to
live it. Recognized that when people are
focused on their worries and anxiety they are not free to give the time or
energy to that which was important—relationships. Relationships with God and others.
That is what we are hearing in our
scripture reading this morning. Jesus is
addressing the worry and anxiety he senses in the great crowd that is before
him. And, what does he tell them? He tells them, “Don’t worry!” Don’t worry because God will take care of
them . . . that God has their backs . . . that God will provide. That God will do all of this because they are
the beloved children of God. Jesus tells
them: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in
barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour
to his life?”
Jesus recognizes what a drain worry, and
anxiety are on people. He sees how it
takes them away from what is important.
So, he tells them, “Don’t worry.”
Instead he tells them to focus on what is important. What is important is for people to “. .
. seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well. Therefore do not
worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
To seek and find God’s kingdom, one must
focus on relationships. Relationships
are the key to unlock the kingdom . . . to doing God’s will. Relationships between God and individuals . .
. relationships between individuals. As
Jesus said, do this and all the laws and teachings of the prophets will take
care of themselves. Relationships are
the key to fulfilling God’s kingdom. It
all comes down to how we relate to God and to one another. Something that cannot be accomplished if our
lives are focused on our worries and anxiety.
That is what is important.
We have entered into the holiday
season. From Thanksgiving Day to
Christmas, we stroll into the frenzied gauntlet of the holiday season that
bombards us relentlessly with expectations.
Ask yourselves, do you not enter the next couple of weeks with a little
trepidation . . . a smidgeon of concern, worry . . . with anxiety? A little stress? Sure we do.
Everyone knows that this is the most stressful time of the year. And, we also know that if we allow that
stress, worry, and anxiety to take over we miss the whole lesson and point of
season.
It is ironic that we enter this season
in such a state. Ironic because we kick
this season off the way we should . . . with a day of giving thanks. As good as the feast might be on Thanksgiving
Day, we know what is really important.
What is really important is not the food, but the people who are
gathered with us to break the bread, to lift the cup, to talk and laugh. Rarely is it the food that is remembered, it
is the fellowship . . . the relationships . . . that is remembered. And, when we pause to give thanks, it is the
relationships with people and God that we give thanks for.
And then, BOOM! We sprint right into the
holiday mood of stress, worry, and anxiety.
We lose sight of what is important.
Now I don’t know if is because my kids
have gotten older and wiser, or if it is because they have gotten cheap. What I have noticed is that they have taken a
different attitude and approach to the holidays . . . in particular,
Christmas. I have been hearing them say
that what is important to them is not so much the gifts that surround the tree,
but the people who are gathered. They
want to focus on the people in the room and not all the pretty packages. They want to partake of the gift of presence
. . . the presence of those they love . . . the presence of relationship . . .
the presence of one another. Because of
this they have declared a moratorium on gift giving . . . gifts only for the
kids—our grandchildren. For everyone
else, the gift of being present is enough.
At least that is what they decided among
themselves. They assured Dana and I that
the moratorium wasn’t for us . . . we could still give them gifts; but, if we
didn’t want to, we didn’t have to.
Wink! Wink!
As I said, I’m not sure if they have
gotten wiser or cheap. Yet, I applaud
them on their intentions. They are
beginning to get it. They are beginning
to understand what is important. What is
important are the people in their lives . . . having their brother, Eli, come
in from Maryland . . . having their brother, Joshua, and his wife and son come
from Salt Lake City . . . having their brother, John Andrew come in from
Billings . . . having their mother and father there . . . and, having Candace,
Jason, and the girls open their home to everyone. That is the gift they desire, and that is the
gift they will always have. It is about
relationships.
Isn’t that what the holiday season is
all about? Isn’t that what life is
about? Relationships . . . to be in
relationship with God . . . to be in relationship with others . . . to realize
the Kingdom of God?
That is what Jesus said. Jesus said to focus on that and God will take
care of the rest. Jesus said, “. .
. seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well. Therefore do not
worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
During this holiday season . . . and,
all the days of our lives . . . if we are going to be followers of Jesus, we
must take stock in his words. We are not
to allow stress, worry, and anxiety to keep us away from that which is most
important—relationships. After all, in
the end that is all that really matters.
Think about it . . . when we gather for a funeral we do not hear a list
of the departed’s possessions in life.
No, we hear about how that person related to others . . . those who are
gathered. It makes us sigh, laugh, and
cry because we remember . . . we remember the relationship . . . because that
is what really matters.
As Bobby McFerrin echoed the words of
Jesus in his song, “Don’t worry, be happy!”
God will take care of the rest.
Amen.
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