Page 22 - PT Winter 2021-2022

Michael Penny

Worry, worry, worry

loods and fires in far off places. Troubles in Most of my fears dissipated like the morning mist over the
Afghanistan and Africa, Iran and Iraq. Unrest River Thames near where I live.
Fin Palestine and the Middle East. Where will Worry seems to be endemic to the human race. We are
it all end? Will it ever end? prone to worry about this, and worry about that, and worry
about the other and yet … what do we really have to worry
When I was a minister in America, not long after I had about living in a country like Britain? Photo Credit: istockphoto.com/ Photodjo
been there, I learnt from one of the congregation that But worry isn’t anything new.
she never read any national newspaper, just the local one. The disciples were worriers too, but Jesus put their
And she never watched the national news on TV, just the worries in perspective by asking them a question.
local news. ‘Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your
When we talked about this, I suggested that as that was life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you
the case, she did not know what was going on in the world. worry about the rest?’
1
She smiled and simply replied that none of those things So, are we like them? Do we worry too much? And is
affected her. there any need for us to worry about many of the things we
All the world news did was cause her to worry and do worry about? After all, many of those things, probably
there was nothing she could do about any of it … but most, will never happen. (Remember the words of Mark
she could help in the local community, and she did. And Twain.) Also, earlier, Jesus had told the disciples:
indeed, she was one of the most quietly content members ‘Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your
of the church. body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the
body more than clothes.’ 2
Too much information? If that is the case, I am left with a question: What is
It’s certainly true that we can become disenchanted with my life about? Am I so much wasting my nervous energy
life by reading, listening and watching the media and worrying about things in far flung places that I have taken
finding out all the things that are going wrong in the world. my eye off local problems?
These things cause many people to worry excessively … The former I can do little about, other than pray and
unnecessarily. write a cheque. The latter, I can still pray and write a
And when it comes to local issues, situations and cheque, but I can also get up out of my chair, roll up my
problems nearer to home, ones which may affect me, one of sleeves and…
my favourite American writers, Mark Twain, said ‘I’ve had
a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.’ 1 Luke 12:25-31
That certainly has been true of me. Is it true of you? 2 Luke 12:22

22 The Plain Truth Winter 2021-2022 Find us online at www.plain-truth.org.uk