Lesson 3
Worry Is a Sin
June 24, 2007
Bro. Gary Johnson
Adult Sunday School
Matthew 6:26-34
From one of my sources for this study Wayne Mack’s ”Down but not Out” he quotes a “Well known Christian Leader” as saying that anxiety or worry is “Public Enemy # One”. You may not agree that worry deserves this number 1 rating. You may want to give that rank to the war, Aids, drug’s, the economy, heart disease. or even gas prices, but I am sure you would have to agree it is a very serious problem. At least with many people even if you do not include yourself in that category.
You may be asking what is the proof that it such a serious problem? There are several evidences that document such a claim to be considered a truly dangerous enemy even if you will not rank it # 1.
Consider your answers of the test (self analysis) that I passed out the first week of this study, and your thinking over the last week. How many of you/us can honestly say that you/we have not worried about anything in that period of time? Perhaps it was something small maybe will the next paycheck get here before the next bill, will we finish a project in time? Maybe it is a little more important, things concerning our marriages, a career change, or will we have another terrorist attack? But we have been studying this subject all month now so I am sure that NO ONE has been WORRIED about ANYTHING, or am I being to confident in all Pastor has been teaching on prayer and it has not all soaked in yet and there is still worry within the camp?
Time magazine did call this “The Age of Anxiety” it Has been said that the epitaph “Hurry, Worry, Bury” would be appropriate on many tombstones these days, because it so aptly describes many so many of our lives. It has also been said that if the insignia of our forefathers was calloused hands, the insignia of our generation is a furrowed brow.
Fear and /or anxiety are serious problems because they are such a common almost universal problem and as we have said in past weeks it is a sin but alas and accepted sin. So one more proof of our all knowing, omnipotent God is the fact that He has so much to say about it. Throughout the Bible we find many commands, promises, and encouragements regarding worry. We have and will continue to look at many of those passages throughout this study as well as some of the people in scripture that had problems with worry.
The problem of worry is serious because it is so universal, but it is also serious because God says it is a sin. When most people think about a sin they think about some of the items that I listed before I said what sin this class was going to be covering. The I am a good person because I do not steal, swear, lie, and commit sexual immorality or murder list. And not considering worrying a sin at all after all every body does it or so as I have said it is an accepted sin. Rarely would a person think of there worry as a sin.
If they are that rare one that does admit they consider it to be a far less serious sin then any of the others, hardly worth mentioning. In fact I believe if you were to ask most believers to name some common sins, it would be doubtful if any of them would ever name the sin of worry.
Why? The truth is, we tend to think that worry is just a given in life, something that is natural or even an integral part of the human of the human psyche. Human sociologists would tell us that anxiety served an important purpose in the evolution of man. Thus we find it easy to excuse, minimize and even make jokes about it. Another sorry fact on that subject is that even
Statements do get accepted by us almost as though we did believe it like some euphuism’s creep into our conversation and we will say we never curse.
So we would contend that worry is certainly not a sin against God.
The fact is WORRY is being disobedient to God. The Bible clearly teaches that worry is an act of disobedience against God. In Matthew 6:25-34 Which we had read before but need to read it again:
(Mat 6:25) Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
(Mat 6:26) Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
(Mat 6:27) Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
(Mat 6:28) And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
(Mat 6:29) And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
(Mat 6:30) Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
(Mat 6:31) Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(Mat 6:32) (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
(Mat 6:33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
(Mat 6:34) Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
In these verses Jesus says three times “Do not worry” This is not intended to be a mere suggestion that we could choose to follow if and when we might feel like it. This is given as a command!! And we do know that breaking a command of God is a sin.
In John 14:1-27 Jesus commanded twice “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me” in verse 1 and then in verse 27 “Peace, I leave with you, my peace, I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither, let it be afraid.” Then in Phil 4:6 Paul writes “Be careful (anxious, worried, and concerned) for nothing: but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God”.
In light of these and other similar commands in Scripture, we must regard worry, anxiety (or what ever else you want to call it) as a serious sin, not merely a weakness of character or human fault.
We also know that worry is serious because the Bible indicates that worry has some serious consequences. And committing the sin of worry will like many other sins lead us into even more sin
Consider Abraham: We know he lied twice about the fact that Sarah was his wife. (Gen 12 and 20) Why would this man called the father of the faithful be guilty of the sin of lying? Yes Abraham had a sinful, deceitful heart just as we do (Jer 17:9) Scripture says that the reason Abraham lied was not a result of his deceitful heart, but that Abraham was fearful and worried. Yes Abraham sinned in his deceit, but the root of his problem was his anxiety which is a sin that lead him into more sin. Worry has consequences.
Likewise Saul experienced the consequences of worry. He was jealous and worried about David’s growing popularity in the kingdom of Israel. He did sin much in his actions against David, and again the root cause, anxiety and worry.
Proverbs 12:25 “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop. But a good word maketh it glad.” This verse reveals an important and common consequence of worry and depression.
In Luke 12 (read if time permits) Jesus teaches that worry leads to doubt and discouragement and motivates people to find relief in earthly pleasures and earthly distractions.
In 1st Peter 5 we learn that worry opens the door for Satin to devour us. Vs 7 says “Casting all your care (worry, anxiety) upon him for he careth for you.” And verse 8 continues,“ Be sober, be vigilant, (watchful, alert) because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walkest about, seeking whom he may devour”.
In Luke 8, and Mark 4 (the parable of the sower) Jesus teaches that anxiety crowds out the Word of God in our lives making us spiritually unfruitful.
And in Proverbs 14:30 we learn, “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy (which includes anxiety) the rottenness of the bones.
Many people experience physical problems as result of the anxiety in their hearts.
Wayne Mack states in his book “Down but not out” that when he was teaching a biblical counseling course some years ago that one of his students was the chief surgeon of the gastrointestinal unit of a large hospital. This surgeon said that the problem of at least 80% of his patients could be traced to an inability to handle fear and anxiety. We had more updated info on that same idea during our last session two weeks ago from the Massachusetts General Hospital’s publication “Mind, Mood, & Memory” which confirms that the problem is not going away.
The book “None of these Diseases” by S. I. McMillian lists at least 60 diseases that are causes or aggravated by inner turmoil. Wayne Mack goes on to say that he has counseled many people whose struggle with anxiety has directly caused physical problems. He cites a case of a man that “very quickly lost 40 pounds because his stomach was so upset from anxiety that he had constant indigestion. Another man he counseled was tired all of the time, and had gone through physical tests with the doctors finding nothing wrong. The problem turned out to be because hardly ever slept more than four hours a night because of worry. Yes indeed worry is a serious problem which has serious consequences. It can destroy our health and often destroys our happiness as well.
Remember Jesus rebuking Martha for being
worried and (bothered another synonym you may use to say you do not worry)
about so many things. In Luke 10:41 as she complained about Mary’s not being as
concerned with the meal preparations as she was?
Like depression, a common sprit often accompanies anxiety. People that are always worried find it easy to complain, because they are never satisfied with themselves or their circumstances. Wayne Mack says that many people that come to him for counseling admit that they have few friends, and the reason is that they are always complaining, and other people do find it difficult to listen to that for very long.
Another consequence of worry is that it hinders our usefulness. There are some very intelligent people who do poorly in school because of what has been diagnosed as “performance anxiety” These people study hard and know the material, but the pressure of a test causes them such anxiety that they are unable to remember what they have learned. Performance anxiety can also cause problems in other areas of achievement, such as athletics, music, and public speaking.
There is the story of the well studied, rehearsed, and completely memorized sermon a pastor was going to give. When he got up to preach it the anxiety was so great that he forgot everything that he was going to say so after a few moments of complete silence he was finally able to say “Before I got up here to preach, only the Lord and I knew what I was going to say, Now only the Lord knows”.
Yes anxiety can inhibit our usefulness.
Worry is Useless
Worry is serious because it has serious consequences, it is also serious because it useless and unnecessary. This is the point that Jesus is making in Matthew 6:27 Looking at 26 -29
Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Mat 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
(Mat 6:28) And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
(Mat 6:29) And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Yes worrying about your clothes does not put them on your backs and worrying about food does not put it on the table. Worry is a complete waste of time and energy because it will not cause something to happen or keep it from happening , only prayer can do that.
Worry is unbecoming
Worry is also a serious problem because it is unbecoming for a child of God or as we have said before a detriment to our testimony It is not appropriate behavior for a believer to worry because of what our worry says about our Father. In Matthew 6:31 & 32 he counseled,
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
When Christians are anxious they are a poor testimony to the world about there heavenly Father. Jesus said in Matthew 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
And in Matthew 6:24 Jesus says No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
When we worry about material things we are making ourselves servants to those things. And God commands us to serve Him not wealth. Worry as I have said before is poor testimony to the world about God’s promise of provision for His children and about who our Master is.
Worry involves Unbelief
Yes another reason that worry is serious is that it is a result of unbelief and for those of you that have been worried because we skipped or that we have not gotten Matthew 6:30 we will now. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Yes we worry because we do not believe that God will provide as he promised. We are expressing doubt about God’s truthfulness. Remember in Phlippians 4:19 Paul gave us the promise “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. “
And back to Matthew 6:33 & 34 Jesus promises (33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (34) Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
When we choose to worry we are essentially saying to God , Lord I do not believe your promises, Our unbelief questions God’s truthfulness.
Furthermore our unbelief questions God’s sovereignty. As David said in Psalm 103:19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
And Daniel 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
Not only can we be sure that God is in control but that we can be sure that He is bringing it all about for our own good. Remember Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
When we worry we question God’s sovereignty, because we do not act like we believe that He is really in control.
Further, our anxiety shows unbelief in God’s sincerity.
2nd Corinthians 1:20 teaches: For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
And Hebrews 13:5-6 advises: Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Heb 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
When we worry, we are expressing doubt about the sincerity of God’s promises. We are saying that we really do not believe that He will do what He has promised to do.
Finally, our worry expresses unbelief in God’s sufficiency. An anxious believer is someone who does not think that God is enough. In Isaiah 41:10 God pledged. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Do we need more help than this? Is there a greater source of power? Can we find more comfort, or better provision, or freer grace? NO we cannot God is more than sufficient for all our needs, and when we worry, we show our lack of faith in that sufficiency, We do not believe that He is enough.
Yes worry is a serious problem because it expresses unbelief, but it is also a serious problem because it is an attempt to usurp the sovereignty of God. In a sense, when we worry, we are trying to think and act like God. Trying to put ourselves in control. Not your will or time but MINE! In Numbers 11:10 we are told: That Moses was “displeased” or frustrated, discouraged, angry, fearful, and yes anxious.
Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.
When we are anxious, it is often because we think that events are out of control, and worse than that we think that these events should be in our control.
Anxiety is an evidence of pride in our hearts. We are not content to simply do what God commands and then leave the results to Him.
Peter reminds us of the link between anxiety and pride in 1st Peter 5:6-7 (6) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (7) Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Proud people think that they have to make things happen, and they get anxious when things go differently than they planned.
Peter urges us to stop thinking this way and to remember that God cares for us. He is trustworthy, sovereign, sincere, and sufficient.