Don’t Worry, Be Happy
For those of you old enough to remember, that was the title to a hit song by Bobby McFerrin back in 1988. The phrase was originally coined by Meher Baba in the mid 1900’s. It was a good philosophy then and still is today, especially with the state of our economy of late.
Since joining the workforce back in 1973, I have seen slow downs, recessions, bad times, etc. I have been laid off, on work share, reduced hours, you name it. I have been fortunate enough to not be permanently out of work for long periods of time though. As with most people, each one of those cycles brings worry and consternation. How will we pay bills, buy food, take care of medical needs. With this current economic recession though, I have not had those worries.
My job has been slowing down now for the past year. Overtime was reduced last fall and eliminated all together at the first of the year. This spring some people were offered early retirement others were laid off. We have now moved into a 32 hour work week. I have cut back on things accordingly. Vikings season tickets were given up and there are no trips to Minnesota planned or vacations. Most other things that are not basic necessities have been either eliminated or put on hold. Those things are all luxuries at best. They were nothing that I had to have to be happy in the first place. In fact, I am much happier now than before.
Matthew 6:25 tells us how to deal with times like this and it has been one of my favorite pieces of scripture during these times.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 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?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But 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. Each day has enough trouble of its own. NIV
As I read Jesus’ words and look back on all the times I was in similar circumstances as I am now, I see that all the worrying I did back then did not help me or extend my life one bit. Sure, it’s natural for us to worry about what is going to happen next, to both us and our loved ones. For all I know I could lose my job permanently or the business could shut down. But when I read the words, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” I know that our Lord and Savior will take care of me. I find great comfort in that. I hope you do too.
June 14 2009 05:36 am | Bible Thoughts
Matthew on 14 Jun 2009 at 10:18 am #
Amen! The Kingdom of Heaven is real and it is such a great blessing to be a part of it! Our God does promise to care for us and He did prove that He would by the cross of Christ (Rom 5:8, John 3:16).
Keep sharing the word by His Spirit for it is what truly changes lives! God’s many blessings this year, maybe even a season ticket or two!
kansasvike on 14 Jun 2009 at 10:59 am #
Thanks so much for the comment Matthew. We’re in this world for only a short time. We’ll be in his world forever.
May he bless you and yours.
-
Mike
The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8
Wade on 14 Jun 2009 at 6:05 pm #
God is our creator, our direction and our source of reason. Watching the Vikings win a game, raking the leaves or fixing a broken toy for one of our children are relatively small events in the grand scheme of things, but are something to keep our minds and hands busy as we become.