Friday, June 22, 2018
Don’t worry, Be happy
Luke 12:22,23
Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy” is a little song written and sung by singer-musician Bobby McFerrin. The little song made it big worldwide and won Song of the Year and Record of the Year honours at the 1989 Grammy Awards. The song was released in September 1988, and it became the first a cappella song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks.
Bobby McFerrin himself is very successful as a vocalist, musician, and conductor, with 10 Grammy Awards to his credit. It is easy, when you are successful, to say to others, “don’t worry, be happy, despite their real difficult circumstances.
McFerrin sings, “Here’s a little song I wrote / You might want to sing it note for note / Don’t worry, be happy / In every life we have some trouble / But when you worry you make it double / Don’t worry, be happy.” Then he continues to some dire examples, “Ain’t got no place to lay your head / Somebody came and took your bed / Don’t worry, be happy / The landlord say your rent is late He may have to litigate / Don’t worry, be happy”
Jesus, talking to his disciples, Luke 12:22-31, essentially said the same thing long before Bobby McFerrin came along. Jesus challenged them to compare themselves to ravens and lilies rather than worry over food and clothing.
In relation to the ravens He said, “Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?” Luke 12:24. And in relation to the lilies He said, “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Luke 12:27.
It is very difficult to say to someone who is in dire straits that they shouldn’t worry. It is easy to discuss these teachings of Jesus when things are going well for everyone who is in the bible study. It is easy to teach this principle when we are in an environment where everyone is doing reasonably well. But when we get to the churches on the other side of town were folks have very little and barely had enough to get to church, these things are difficult to say.
Last week I invited a young man to come to church, he promised that he would come and told me that he was a man of his word. Sunday came, I looked out for him and he never showed. When I met him this week I expressed my disappointment. He, reluctantly, explained that he lacked certain things necessary to come to church. When I pressed him he confessed that he didn’t have a pair of shoes.
I know from personal experience what it is to be in difficult circumstances where there seems to be no way out. I know what it is to have responsibilities for payments and the money is not available. I know from personal experience what it is to be afraid to open the mail or answer the phone because the demands cannot be met.
However, on examining Jesus’s teaching, we find that there is more there than just a ban on worry. Jesus explains the futility of worry as an activity or as a response to difficult circumstances, “And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?” Luke 12:25,26.
Then Jesus sought to teach us about our value to God. We worry because we are inadequate to meet the demands before us. Jesus said that we should have faith in God who values us and is more than adequate to meet the demands before us. “Of how much more value are you than the birds?” Luke 12:24. And “If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you,” Luke 12:28
Finally, Jesus challenges us to have faith and focus on taking care of God’s Kingdom and let God of the Kingdom take care of our needs. “But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.” Luke 12:31.
Bobby McFerrin gave us no basis for moving from worry to happiness beyond his observation that “’Cause when you worry your face will frown / And that will bring everybody down.”
However, the Sons of Korah, singers and songwriters before Bobby, had a clear basis in their song for moving from worry to happiness, and for having the countenance of their downcast faces lifted. “Why are you cast down, O my soul? / And why are you disquieted within me? / Hope in God; / For I shall yet praise Him, / The help of my countenance and my God.” Psalm 43:5
Think on these things:
- Are you facing any situation that is forcing you to worry?
- Have you moved from worry to faith in the past, what lessons did you learn that could be applied now?
- Do you have a network of relatives, close friends, or brethren from the church who are available to support and encourage you in the Lord when you are facing difficult times?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would learn to seek and to serve God’s Kingdom as our top priority, and to trust Him to take care of our needs.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex