Or Should Christians Wear a Perpetual Smile?

“Don’t worry, be happy”

If I was to name the one person who modeled this phrase best, it would be Stan (not his real name), a college acquaintance. He was an amiable enough chap whose perpetually bubbly nature created distinct phases in his relationships. At first there was the “this guy is going to be my best friend” stage which was inevitably followed by the suspicion stage, as in, “is this guy on something?” Finally, the relationship would dissolve altogether when his pals figured out that Stan may not have a good grip on reality.

I once asked Stan about his secret to eternal good humor. “It’s quite simple,” he assured me. “Never concern yourself with anything beyond the next 24 hours.” To illustrate his point, he confided that he didn’t study for a test until the day before it was given. And with that tidbit of wisdom, he skipped off, whistling a cheery tune before I could ask him about his approach to research papers and reading assignments. I lost track of Stan when he abruptly transferred to another college after our freshman year.

I always wondered if Stan may have taken his thought management ideas from the words of Jesus found in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

The Lord was certainly addressing the issue of worry in His typical style: head-on. Worry is bad. Those with a more natural bent toward a fretful nature would be quick to point out that Jesus did not say don’t worry at all; He just meant don’t worry about tomorrow. (I wonder how Stan would exegete this Greek text. I wonder if Stan even made it through Greek class. But I digress…)

Song writer Bobby McFerrin got it right when he observed that,

“In every life we have some trouble,
When you worry you make it double.”

Someone else likened worry to a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere. Worry is not just deep concern; it is negative self-talk. It is the opposite of hope, the outworking of unbelief. And unbelief was an attitude that always caught our Lord’s attention.

Is there a remedy for worry?

The answer begins in the context of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6. “Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness.” Or, as the Message puts it: “Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provision.”

The reality is that God cares about you and your problems more than all the worry in the world can express. If that truth doesn’t incite you to smile, you need to think about it some more until it does.

Blessings,

Pastor Dave

Post script: Maybe Stan was on to something after all. I just googled his name and discovered that he finally graduated from college and is now married to a gal named June. From what I know about Stan, I suspect that they eloped.