The Sin of Worry

Introduction
In his first inaugural address, Franklin Roosevelt said to Americans, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  In January of 1933, there were plenty of things of which Americans were fearful.  It seems that not much changed had changed 80 years later.  A mental health study conducted by the WHO in 2009 indicated the United States as the leader in anxiety among nations studied, with 1/3 of adults reporting having suffered from anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.  More recently, studies of the Millennial generation show that more than ½ report lost sleep as a result of anxiety and stress.  The NYTimes reported in 2015 that Americans then were spending over 2 billion/year in efforts to treat anxiety, stress and worry.  A British Medical Journal study indicated increased health problems and potentially shortened life spans for those regularly dealing with even low levels of stress and worry.

This message is intended to point us to God’s Word in giving us principles that can help point us to truth and hope in an area of life that seems to affect many.  It grew out several things:  First, the topic of worry was part of a young adult Bible study series led by Reed Roisum in the fall of 2022.  The title of that series was “Welcome to Adulting” and led us through a Biblical study of several topics pertinent to adults of all ages.  A book by that title, authored by Jonathon Pokluda was helpful in that series.   I filled in for Reed the week in which we studied the topic of worry, so was able to develop an outline.    Secondly, more reflection on the application of last week’s message of The First Gospel.  In that, we focused first on faith in what God has revealed, coupled with responding to sin in my life.   How do I live a life of increasing faith?  I must see and hear God’s Word.  As Psalm 1:3 says of the blessed man, “but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law, he meditates day and night.”  Second, I must also focus on, and respond to, the sin in my life.  I must see its awful price as witnessed by my first parents and experienced by my Savior.
 
This is more of a topical message than expositional.  We will reference our text in Matthew 6, but our goal is not to examine all of it in great detail.  Additionally, there are some other Scriptures to share and make note of as well.    So, as we consider the topic of worry/anxiety/stress this morning, we must first understand that God’s Word addresses this as sin.

It Is a Command
Jesus is not offering suggestions or advice in Matt 6:25 when he says “do not be anxious for your life.”  Which he repeated in v. 31 and 34.  Similar wording is used by Paul in Philippians 4:6, “do not be anxious about anything.”  The God who tells us not to murder and not commit adultery is telling us not to be anxious.  Worry is sin.

But can I help it?  Isn’t there a difference between something like murder, which would be an act of my will?  Worrying isn’t the same.  It just happens.  Other people cause it.  I can’t control it.  Would God allow or create situations where you must sin?  James tells us in 1:13 “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he does not tempt any man.”

Why would God care if we worry or not?  When he identifies something as sin, it is because that thing is not good for us.  Worrying is not fun or good for us.  Jesus said in Matt 6:27, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to your life?”  As we saw, even the world is worried about worry.

The reality is that there is more to it than the cost to our physical and mental well-being. The sin of worry is a symptom of a deeper problem.  

Control Is at the Root of Worry
Worry is directly related to control.  If we fully trust whoever has control over our circumstances, we would have no reason to worry about what will happen.
Our problem comes when we don’t know or don’t trust who is in control.  If we are followers of Jesus, we are to believe by faith that God is in control of every detail of our lives.  By claiming to be a Christian, we are saying that we are trusting Jesus to have saved us from our sins, giving us power over sin in this life, and that he will give us eternal life with him.

So, we claim that faith, but often our actions and responses to circumstances in daily living demonstrate that we do not trust that he has control.  Or, that the past circumstances of my life were too bad for him to help me overcome them now.  That simply flies in the face of everything we know of the character of God from what he has revealed to us in his Word.  This is exactly what Satan tempted Eve to believe in Genesis 3; that God is not entirely good or truthful, that he did not have her best interests in mind, and that she would be far better off by taking control of her life.   But that is not true.  The root of worry says that God is not in control and God is not good.  But what is the truth?  Romans 8:28, “For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.”  This verse is NOT saying that every circumstance in my life is going to be good, and my nearsightedness may make it seem like some situations may never be good.  But as God says to the prophet in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  God is in control.  But, he may never allow us to go into his control tower and have everything explained.  We are to trust him and not worry.

Author Tim Keller once wrote, “Worry is not believing God will get it right and bitterness is believing God got it wrong.”
 
Who is in control of your life?

Worry Reveals Our Idolatry
How many times have I worried about something that never happened?  The math of worry doesn’t add up.  If we consider all of the “ifs” or, what if this happens, we’re as likely to win the lottery as have our fears come true.  Jesus, knowing this, said this in 6:30-33 (read).

The reality is that our fears are really not about what might happen, but our comfort level.  What we often live out is fear that we truly have to trust God rather than ourselves.  Again, it’s an issue of faith.  We’d rather not rely on the faith we claim to have.

What is an idol?  Anything we trust in more than God.  God defined it in Exodus 20:4, “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.”  Paul described it in Romans 1:25, “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator..”

We tend to downplay idolatry in our day, relegating it to ancient or primitive cultures where they built statues, bowing down to them in worship.  We are way too sophisticated for that, we say.  But the truth is that idolatry is simply trusting in creation (something that can be seen, felt, experienced or sensed in some way) rather than the Creator (unseen) for our hope, happiness, significance or security.  Seen vs. unseen.  Heb 11:1 – “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Romans 14:23 – “…whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”  Idolatry happens with the multitude of material things we have, relationships with others (both good and difficult), how we spend our time, what types of experiences we try to create, etc.  An idol is anything that becomes more important than God in my life.  If I’m anxious or stressed over what people think of me, or how they are going to treat me, rather than the truth of what God thinks of me and how he will care for me, the approval of others is an idol in my life.  As Jesus pointed out in the passage preceding our text in Matt 6, If I’m worried about my material well-being, personal comfort and possessions rather than trusting God for contentment, then money is an idol in my life.  As author JP Pokluda wrote, “Show me what your worried about and I’ll show you your idols.”

Waging War on Worry
So now that we know that anxiety, being stressed, worrying is sin and idolatry – how do I stop?  The answer is simple, but not easy.  Simply, we must come to trust God more.  Our faith in God and who he is must grow.  How will that happen?  Romans 10:17 – “So then faith comes from hearing the Word of God.”  To trust God more is an easy statement but can be hard to do.  Why?  Paul, who wrote those words of God, also had this to say about the struggle with the power of sin in our lives.  Romans 7:14-15 – “..but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.  For I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”  V. 18 – “…for I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”  Here’s Paul, the super Christian, talking about sin as something he couldn’t control or overcome on his own.  He wanted to stop sinning but couldn’t.  It was impossible without help.  He admitted it.  It is right for us to do the same.  But he also realized where help, and hope came from.  7:24-25 – “Wretched man that I am.  Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!...”  God is the only one sufficient to break the power of worry or any sin in our lives.

While God is faithful and gracious to give us the power to overcome sin, we have responsibility as well.  Paul teaches this in II Cor 10:4-5 – “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,…”  The idea that God is not good or that he is not in control are arguments that go against the knowledge of who God is and what he has promised in his Word.  We are to destroy, demolish those arguments in our very minds and hearts, and instead take captive every thought to make it obedient to Jesus.

Consider “every thought”.  This battle is waged and won one thought at a time.  I once had a problem with mice.  The most effective way to get rid of them was not the “better mouse trap”, but the simple one, which once baited, quickly caught a mouse.  SNAP.  Baited and set again.  SNAP.  Again.  SNAP.  Finally, there were no more SNAPS.  The mouse war had been won, through a whole lot of little battles.  It’s the same way with battling the sin of worry.  What if I don’t make my goal at work?  SNAP  What if I don’t pass the test?  SNAP  What if my relative treats me poorly?  SNAP  What if I lose my job?  SNAP  What if I never get a better car?  SNAP  What if that person blows up at me again?  SNAP

We need to replace those thoughts with truth.  Truth about who God is and what he says about each potential stress or worry point in our life.  We need to dig into the Word to find this.  It is there and he will show us as we seek him in sincerity and truth.  As Paul described this spiritual battle we face to the believers in the church at Ephesus in 6:16-18 – “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”  Small battles, won moment by moment.  Confronted with God’s truth.  Demolish the lies.  One at a time.  Always praying, asking, depending.

What is the result?  Earlier, we heard from God’s command to the Philippians in 4:6 – “Do not be anxious about anything..”, but going on – “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  Isaiah testified in 26:3 – “You (God) will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”  David said in Psalm 56:3 – “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”  These are but a couple of the many wonderful Scriptures which lead us to the truth of our God, who he is, what he has done and will do for those who love him and follow him and trust his control moment by moment in faith.
 
Thankfully, God’s Word is always faithful, once it has reproved and corrected our thinking, to teach and instruct us in righteousness.  Why? so that we may be complete, adequate and equipped for every good work.