Monday, 09 June 2008 01:00 | and posted in Faith
Wouldn't it be funny if a key to life was found in a Disney movie and championed by a singing Warthog and Meerkat? While I wouldn't suggest that not worrying results in a problem-free existence (we will still face problems), it would however radically transform how we reacted to those problems.
Hakuna Matata!
What a wonderful phrase!
Hakuna Matata!
Ain't no passing craze.It means no worries
For the rest of your days,
It's our problem-free, philosophy...
Hakuna Matata!*
Personally, I think Timon and Pumbaa may well be on to something, but thankfully they're not the only ones we can quote when talking about not worrying:
Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?**
It's interesting to note here what Jesus chooses to tell us not to worry about: food and clothes! Today, I could imagine Jesus using the phrase "health and security," but he's meaning the same thing.
As a teenager I don't remember worrying much about food and clothes! My parents dealt with both the worry and the buying of such items. I worried about things like the health of family and friends, what people thought of me (often whether I was wearing the right clothes), and doing well in school. Oh! Health and security then (just in a different format)!
The thing about worrying is that it's mostly over things we cannot do anything about and it rarely achieves anything anyway! When I worry, I get stressed, I feel exhausted and sometimes I even feel paralysed with helplessness about the situation. So even in the rare times I can do something about what I'm worrying about (e.g. study for exams) I feel so overcome by worry that I am, ironically, unable to do so!
Jesus says the key to not worrying is our attitude to money. Why? Because we attempt to buy our food and clothes, health and security, with money. We often believe the lie that being rich(er) will end all our worries and make us happy. Jesus says the opposite, telling his disciples to sell all their possessions and give the money to the poor.
What! Sell everything! But how will I support my wife and children?
But I think that's Jesus' point. Telling us to give away everything to the poor exposes our lack of trust in God's provision (how will I support...), our striving (to make ever more money) and our selfishness (ignoring others more in need).
Do not worry. Instead seek God's kingdom by giving away your money and possessions; remembering that you are valuable to God and it is him that will provide for you.***
What if
we
believed
this?
FOOTNOTES:
* Yes, my secret's out. I enjoyed the ‘Lion King.'
** Jesus, quoted from Luke 12:22-26.
*** Why not take some time to read the whole passage? Start from Luke 12:13 and end after verse 34.