Put Down the Glass, But That’s Not All
Every generation faces stress and battles stressors. I remember my folks talking about being young and scared and relatively poor during the Depression and WWII. I grew up living near two Air Force bases and did routine "duck and cover" drills in school and being told we may very well face a nuclear attack (and to take heart that our elementary desk would protect us). Today, we have our share of stressors everywhere we look, and I don't need to rehearse them for you since they seem to come running in packs, each barking for attention.
We hear about stress all the time. One definition I found says stress is
a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.
Stress promotes some to rise to any challenge and others to wilt. Regardless of the response, stress stresses any of us. I went to Dr. Google and I found this list of the effects of stress on a person.
What happens to the body when under stress?
Aches and pains.
Chest pain or a feeling like your heart is racing.
Exhaustion or trouble sleeping.
Headaches, dizziness or shaking.
High blood pressure.
Muscle tension or jaw clenching.
Stomach or digestive problems.
Weak immune system
Sexual disfunction
Anxiety, irritablility, depression, panic, (LionsTigersandBears...oh, my!)
Polish thinker Karl Niilo posted this short about stress. Take a look:
Niilo's idea is a novel, but incomplete twist on a teaching Jesus said as part of the Sermon on the Mount. Nillo says, just put down the glass, don't carry it for too long, but he leaves out the role God plays. Listen to how Jesus frames the same ideas of needs and stress in Matthew 6:
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?....For non believers 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.
In the extended passage of Mt. 5-7, he lays out the kingdom ethic and its baseline expectations. In this section, Jesus gives a "forest vs trees" argument when it comes to handling stress. Clearly, folks need food and clothes and he is not saying those should be discounted, but he is saying kingdom folks shouldn't only focus on the "tree" of difficulty before them, but need to never forget that the God who covers the hills with flowers and feeds all the birds we see, has his eye on each of us, as well. That's the "forest." He is not teaching to ignore problems since they are real and we will at times be bowed under their weight, just to keep them in perspective with all he is up to.
The Father Jesus talks about in this passage stands close, pays attention, allows life to unfold and teaches us better to walk in faith and trust in him. Embedded in the last sentence is a true gem. Jesus talks about each day crafted to stand in balance, good and bad, triumph and failure, gain and loss. When we import worry and stress from tomorrow into today, it neither improves the future and it certainly throws today out of balance. So, he teaches, live today in faith, working and trusting that the same Father who cares for nature has his eye on you.
Peter authored two letters that are tucked toward the back of the bible, written to folks who were in the midst of hard, hard times. The first letter is filled with practical encouragements on doing faith when the road is rocky. Toward the end of the letter he seems to take up Jesus' idea and delivers it to his readers.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
So, let's fold Niilo's illustration into these passages. Need breeds stress that leads to worry-filled anxiety. What the video says to do is correct, but not by ourselves, alone. Jesus calls us to remember we have a Father who knows us and how we are made and what we face. We are encouraged to trust him and his plan for us that includes the darkest of days. Then Peter challenges believers to humble themselves (not think we can do it all ourselves), and to toss our stress into his lap.
Our stressors still bark for attention, but trusting in God shuts the windows on the noise. So, if your arm is tired, put down the glass and turn your heart toward your Father. Talk your problems out with him today. He loves to hear from you.
And...music!
And a couple of chuckles for the road...
Before setting off on a business trip to Tulsa, I called the hotel where I'd be staying to see if they had a gym.
The hotel receptionist's sigh had a tinge of exasperation in it when she answered.
"We have over 300 guests at this facility," she said. "Does this 'Jim' have a last name?"
and...
95% of people are completely STUPID!
Luckily, I'm in the other 10%.