Worrying about the right thing
”And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28
“Why We Worry About The Wrong Things: The Psychology of Risk” was the title on the cover of the recent TIME magazine that captivated my attention. There is nothing in the premise that we did not already know, but it is exactly that reason why the article was so appealing. It hits home with all of us – this idea that we are all worried about the things that don’t matter, and somehow missing on the things that do. Jeffrey Kluger writes “We agonize over avian flu, which to date has killed precisely no one in the U.S., but have to be cajoled into getting vaccinated for the common flu, which contributes to the deaths of 36,000 Americans each year. We wring our hands over the mad cow pathogen that might be (but almost certainly isn't) in our hamburger and worry far less about the cholesterol that contributes to the heart disease that kills 700,000 of us annually. We pride ourselves on being the only species that understands the concept of risk, yet we have a confounding habit of worrying about mere possibilities while ignoring probabilities, building barricades against perceived dangers while leaving ourselves exposed to real ones.”1
Whatever the reasons of our current psychology of risk, I think the premise is truer, and the problem deeper than we realize. We not only worry about the wrong things, we often ignore the most important things. Kluger says, “we worry about possibilities while ignoring probabilities”. Ignoring probabilities is bad, but the tragedy of our time is ignoring certainties. It is a certainty that we are not sovereign. It is a certainty that this body is deteriorating even after all the assistance from doctors and cosmeticians. And, then there is the certainty that has a probability of a 100% - the certainty of death.
Jesus while giving instructions to His disciples as they were being commissioned to go to preach the Good News took this to a higher level. He revealed to His disciples a certainty they ought to worry about more than even the certainty of death. It was the certainty of ultimate divine justice - “Do not fear the one who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” Lest someone conclude that Jesus was trying to scare them, I better quote the rest, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
In other words, Jesus was saying, considering the sovereignty of God, and the value He places on you, He is the only one you need to worry about. One fear to embrace, and all other fears are overcome. One certainty to grasp, and the rest of the certainties, probabilities, and possibilities fade into insignificance. One question brought to light, and all others are overshadowed into irrelevance.
The one concern that rarely alarms us is the one that Jesus says ought to alarm us. Am I ready to face my Maker? Am I ready to stand before a perfectly just God? But fortunately, Jesus does not end there. He does not leave us with a worry that we have no answer to. Jesus, in the very next verse gives us an answer and an assurance. He says, therefore whoever confesses Me before men, Him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” In the last and final analysis, Jesus says that all that matters is whether we acknowledge Him.
What is your greatest fear? What do you worry about? Is it family? Health? Career? It is well to consider these issues, but even if all the worries were addressed, and all the questions answered, you still cannot escape the appointment that has been set for us all. In one of the essays by Dr. Ravi Zacharias on the September 11th tragedy, he asks, “Was it not ironic that one of the passengers who died in the American Airlines crash in Queens, New York, in early November 2001 had escaped the inferno of the World Trade Center tragedy in September?”(2) We all must stand equally guilty as fallen humanity in front a holy and just God. And the only cure for that is our acknowledment of the sacrifice of His Son Jesus for us. May I urge you to consider the claim of Jesus Christ today – “whoever confesses Me before men, Him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.”
Danesh Manik
References:
(1) TIME Magazine, December 4th issue, "Why We Worry About The Wrong Things: The Psychology of Risk" by Jeffrey Kluger
(2) "September 11, 2001: Was God Present or Absent? by Ravi Zacharias (Excerpted from a chapter of the book Light in the Shadow of Jihad: The Struggle for Truth by Ravi Zacharias (Multnomah Publishers, 2002).
______________________________________________________
"A Soul’s Anchor” is a daily inspirational message prepared to challenge your mind, inspire your heart, and motivate you to anchor your soul in the person of Jesus Christ.
If you know a friend who would enjoy receiving "A Soul’s Anchor" in their email box each day, tell them they can sign up by emailing us at subscribe@asoulsanchor.org . The messages may also be read at our website, http://www.asoulsanchor.org. To unsubscribe, please email, unsubscribe@asoulsanchor.org with your email in the subject line. To change to a weekly instead of a daily subscription, email weekly@asoulsanchor.org with your email in the subject line. For receiving messages by mail, please write to us at A Soul’s Anchor, India International Church, 3654 Okemos Rd., Okemos, MI 48864
“Why We Worry About The Wrong Things: The Psychology of Risk” was the title on the cover of the recent TIME magazine that captivated my attention. There is nothing in the premise that we did not already know, but it is exactly that reason why the article was so appealing. It hits home with all of us – this idea that we are all worried about the things that don’t matter, and somehow missing on the things that do. Jeffrey Kluger writes “We agonize over avian flu, which to date has killed precisely no one in the U.S., but have to be cajoled into getting vaccinated for the common flu, which contributes to the deaths of 36,000 Americans each year. We wring our hands over the mad cow pathogen that might be (but almost certainly isn't) in our hamburger and worry far less about the cholesterol that contributes to the heart disease that kills 700,000 of us annually. We pride ourselves on being the only species that understands the concept of risk, yet we have a confounding habit of worrying about mere possibilities while ignoring probabilities, building barricades against perceived dangers while leaving ourselves exposed to real ones.”1
Whatever the reasons of our current psychology of risk, I think the premise is truer, and the problem deeper than we realize. We not only worry about the wrong things, we often ignore the most important things. Kluger says, “we worry about possibilities while ignoring probabilities”. Ignoring probabilities is bad, but the tragedy of our time is ignoring certainties. It is a certainty that we are not sovereign. It is a certainty that this body is deteriorating even after all the assistance from doctors and cosmeticians. And, then there is the certainty that has a probability of a 100% - the certainty of death.
Jesus while giving instructions to His disciples as they were being commissioned to go to preach the Good News took this to a higher level. He revealed to His disciples a certainty they ought to worry about more than even the certainty of death. It was the certainty of ultimate divine justice - “Do not fear the one who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” Lest someone conclude that Jesus was trying to scare them, I better quote the rest, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
In other words, Jesus was saying, considering the sovereignty of God, and the value He places on you, He is the only one you need to worry about. One fear to embrace, and all other fears are overcome. One certainty to grasp, and the rest of the certainties, probabilities, and possibilities fade into insignificance. One question brought to light, and all others are overshadowed into irrelevance.
The one concern that rarely alarms us is the one that Jesus says ought to alarm us. Am I ready to face my Maker? Am I ready to stand before a perfectly just God? But fortunately, Jesus does not end there. He does not leave us with a worry that we have no answer to. Jesus, in the very next verse gives us an answer and an assurance. He says, therefore whoever confesses Me before men, Him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” In the last and final analysis, Jesus says that all that matters is whether we acknowledge Him.
What is your greatest fear? What do you worry about? Is it family? Health? Career? It is well to consider these issues, but even if all the worries were addressed, and all the questions answered, you still cannot escape the appointment that has been set for us all. In one of the essays by Dr. Ravi Zacharias on the September 11th tragedy, he asks, “Was it not ironic that one of the passengers who died in the American Airlines crash in Queens, New York, in early November 2001 had escaped the inferno of the World Trade Center tragedy in September?”(2) We all must stand equally guilty as fallen humanity in front a holy and just God. And the only cure for that is our acknowledment of the sacrifice of His Son Jesus for us. May I urge you to consider the claim of Jesus Christ today – “whoever confesses Me before men, Him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.”
Danesh Manik
References:
(1) TIME Magazine, December 4th issue, "Why We Worry About The Wrong Things: The Psychology of Risk" by Jeffrey Kluger
(2) "September 11, 2001: Was God Present or Absent? by Ravi Zacharias (Excerpted from a chapter of the book Light in the Shadow of Jihad: The Struggle for Truth by Ravi Zacharias (Multnomah Publishers, 2002).
______________________________________________________
"A Soul’s Anchor” is a daily inspirational message prepared to challenge your mind, inspire your heart, and motivate you to anchor your soul in the person of Jesus Christ.
If you know a friend who would enjoy receiving "A Soul’s Anchor" in their email box each day, tell them they can sign up by emailing us at subscribe@asoulsanchor.org . The messages may also be read at our website, http://www.asoulsanchor.org. To unsubscribe, please email, unsubscribe@asoulsanchor.org with your email in the subject line. To change to a weekly instead of a daily subscription, email weekly@asoulsanchor.org with your email in the subject line. For receiving messages by mail, please write to us at A Soul’s Anchor, India International Church, 3654 Okemos Rd., Okemos, MI 48864
posted by Danesh Manik | 3:06 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home