Why Worry?
Dori Zerbe Cornelsen
I do not regularly frequent the inspirational reading section of my local bookstore, but a quote from one of its bestselling authors, Leo Buscaglia, recently caught my eye: “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.”
Mennonite Foundation of Canada has adopted three words to describe and guide it’s ministry into the future: Faithful Joyful Giving. My experience in the Mennonite context is that we are earnest about being faithful and sincere in our giving, but we might have some discomfort with being joyful. Perhaps my experience is sullied by family lore of a Thanksgiving gathering with relatives where games, good food and a significant amount of laughter were shared. Only, this seemed to distress one of the great aunts who intoned with warning in her accented voice, “Thanksgiving Day and you are having so much fun!”
I wonder what messages formed my aging aunt’s view that gratitude was best expressed in austerity. It is hard to imagine that this was what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he appealed to the Christians of Philippi, saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
Paul goes on to make a connection between joy and worry calling on believers to let go of their anxiety. As an antidote to being anxious, he encourages readers to present requests to God, with thanksgiving, which he says results in the experience of peace beyond understanding. Why is it that in this attitude at least, Leo Buscaglia seems to have more in common with the Apostle Paul than my great aunt does?
In our material lives, there are many things that can cause anxiety – employment, taxes, saving for retirement or children’s education, debt, investments in the stock market, etc. The counsel Paul offers does not mean that we can appeal to a “quick-fix” God who will make everything comfortable for us. Rather, the call to let go of worry in favor of joy reminds us that our grasping for control does little in helping us to achieve our goals. Giving up control puts us back in our place. Or, as one person puts it, “For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe.”
Perhaps my great aunt came to believe that expressing gratitude with joy was frivolous and superficial because she grew up in tremendously challenging circumstances. But given that Paul wrote these words while imprisoned and awaiting trial, his call to rejoice cannot be taken lightly. Expressing joy is no escape hatch for him nor does he recommend disengagement from our responsibilities in the material world because “God will take care of us.”
Openness and honesty in prayer, the discipline of bringing our requests to God, is integral to tapping into the deep well of joy. Opening ourselves to God by its very nature challenges our impulse to be in control. We cannot worry away the sorrows of tomorrow but we can respond to God with the energy of joy today.