Sunday, April 18, 2004
Sunday, April 18, 2004
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you
will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more
than clothing?
(Matthew 6.25
NRSV)
Bobby McFerrin had a smash-hit song several years back, "Don't Worry, Be Happy!" He says his song "says something that's just common sense, common wisdom for humanity--that worry is counter-productive."
"Worry takes your energy away," says McFerrin. "You need to turn it into something very positive. And that is to put a smile on your face and say, well, try to take it a little more lightly." McFerrin, who once considered becoming an Episcopal priest, said that the song came out of his own need. "When I wrote the song," he says, "I was experiencing a period of stress and tension. There were some things going on in my life that I wasn't happy with, and this song was written for me just as much as anyone else." Don't worry--be happy.
God calls us not to worry. We know through health reports that worry is not good for us. Will we turn our worry over to Jesus? Will we learn to be happy by our salvation in Jesus?
Loving God, hear my prayer to take the worry out of my life, as I fill my heart with Jesus' love. Amen.
