This is the time of year that we celebrate graduates, whether that be from high school, college, or even kindergarten. Graduations are happy-sad moments for parents. A major rite of passage has occurred. Parents can’t help from being proud of their kids accomplishments, but the event also marks a transition of sorts to adulthood. And there is an expectation of the future too. Just as many people say “congratulations” as “what will you do next?” Sometimes asking “what will you do” really means something else: “where will you go?”
And sometimes the answer involves the child/young adult moving away from home. In 2016, 17,196 students left the state of California for college. Texas had 11,179 people leave, and Illinois had 16,461 students go elsewhere. This is when the worrying begins.
That’s not really true though. The worrying is always there, from the moment the child is born. But “going off to college” can spike that worry pretty high in some situations.
Parents always worry about their kids and always will to some extent. College is just one example. There are quite a few more. We worry about a lot of things in life. A recent poll from verywellmind.com revealed an interesting “worry” list from people. Here are categories of worry alongside the percentage of respondents who worried about them:
Financial instability/crisis 36%
Political instability 34%
Future pandemics 33%
Global warming 29%
War 27%
Natural disasters 25%
Food shortages/famine 20%
Clean water shortages 14%
Use of nuclear weapons 13%
Cyberattack 12%
Worsening air quality 12%
Increased digital surveillance 9%
Electrical grid malfunction 7%
Role of artificial intelligence 6%
Loss of biodiversity 5%
Asteroid/meteor impact 4%
Something else 11%
Just look at all the things we worry about. Why do we do it? Why do we worry about such things? What is worrying all about, anyway?
I think it can be summed up with one word: uncertainty.
If you knew exactly what was going to happen in life there would be no worry. You only worry about things if there is a chance that something bad might happen and you are afraid that it will. Take a sporting event for example. If you watched your favorite team play after the fact, and someone had told you before you watched the recording what the games’ outcome was, you wouldn’t worry about how the game turned out. This is true whether or not your favorite team wins. You might not like the outcome, but if you already know what it is going to be there is no place for worry.
You can’t git rid of the uncertainty in life, and even if you could you probably wouldn’t want to. If God came to you and offered to tell you everything that would happen to you, would you take God up on that offer? I would not. How boring that would be to remove all uncertainty from life.
I think there are times when worry can be helpful, but only if we have the ability to make decisions that affect the uncertainty. Let’s say someone is allergic to nuts and finds himself at a party where snacks are served. He doesn’t know if nuts are in any of the food. This is a good reason to worry, but here at least a decision can be made. The person can simply not eat the snacks. His worry has caused him to make the right decision.
But what if you can’t do anything about it? Should we worry then? Here is what Jesus had to say about worrying:
Matthew 6:25-34
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The instruction is pretty straightforward. Don’t do it. Don’t worry. It doesn’t help you and only causes problems. Notice that Jesus is equating a worrisome attitude with a lack of faith. The people who worry are those with “little faith.” Is faith the antidote for a worrying heart?
I don’t think we will ever git rid of worry. But if there is nothing we can do about a situation, we might do well to remember Jesus’ words and look toward our faith instead.
God Bless