Worry Is Unhelpful and Unnecessary

By Rick Warren

“Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?” (Matthew 6:27 GNT).

It’s no secret we worry a lot today. We worry about money. We worry about relationships. We worry about our children, our house, and our pets.

We worry about almost everything.

But worry isn’t new. Jesus thought worry was such an important topic that he spent a major section of his most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, talking about worry.

In fact, in that Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us the four reasons we should never worry about anything.

First, worry is unreasonable.

Worry doesn’t make sense. In Matthew 6:25, Jesus says this: “Do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn’t life worth more than food? And isn’t the body worth more than clothes?” (GNT).

Worry exaggerates the problem. Problems don’t shrink when you think about them. They grow.

Second, worry is unnatural.

We’re the only creation in the entire universe that worries. Cows don’t worry. Cats don’t worry. Dogs don’t worry. Just humans do. We weren’t born worriers. We learned how to do it.

Jesus says in Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren’t you worth much more than birds?” (GNT).
Birds don’t do anything except “birdy” things. They tweet. They fly around. But they don’t sow or reap. Yet God still feeds them.

If God feeds the birds, he’ll feed you. Why worry?

Third, worry is unhelpful.

Jesus says, “Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?” (Matthew 6:27 GNT).

Worry can’t make you one inch taller. Worry can’t make you one inch shorter. Worry can’t take 10 inches off my waste. Worry can’t lengthen your life (though it can shorten it). Worry cannot change the past, and worry cannot control the future. It’ll just mess up today.

The only thing that worry changes is you. It makes you miserable.

Fourth, worry is unnecessary.

Jesus says, “It is God who clothes the wild grass—grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won’t he be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have!” (Matthew 6:30 GNT).

God will meet your needs. He created you. He saved you. He put his Spirit in you when you placed your trust in Jesus. You don’t need to worry.

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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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