Do Not Worry

Often I look at the world and see that virtue and integrity has vanished. There are so many people living in the world that haven’t a care for God, the Bible or even Christianity at all. I see this horror and wonder when the end of the world will come because there seems to be no righteousness remaining. But as I read Psalm 12 today it dawned on me that the world I live in is nothing new at all.

Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

It is quite obvious that long, long ago the world was just as wicked as I see it today. King David has the same idea of the world as I do. And as I kept reading his Psalm I noticed that he had the same conclusion as I as well. He sought for the Lord to solve the situation because it rested so heavily on his heart. In addition to this David sought safety from the evil. He didn’t want to live among those who did not serve and love God, he wanted to be saved from world and live with Christ.

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.” The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.

You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

I posit this, no matter how evil the world may seem, we still have God on our side. We have God who will keep us safe, will guard us, and will always be there for us. I think rather than worrying as I have about the generation, and fearing our almost certain demise, I should seek the truth. I should try to speak truth in love to all those around me. What does worrying do to solve the problem?

I believe that King David’s response was perfectly accurate. Yes, fear the problem, but no, do not fear the solution. Understand that God is there, God has the situation under control, and it is our responsibility to do our part to save our generation.

Let’s conclude with a passage from Matthew that I find applicable. In the same way that we shouldn’t worry about the present generation’s unbelief, we should not worry about the common staples of life. Worrying is simply something we should not do.

“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 than food, and the body more 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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers 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—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.”

Matthew 6:25-34