Matthew 6:24-34 (NIV)

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. “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? 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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 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? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Jenga is a game I’ll admit to never playing. From watching others play it, I realize I would have a nervous breakdown worrying whether I would be the one to cause the blocks to come tumbling down. Did you know that the creator of Jenga is Leslie Scott, a British board game designer and author? Yep, Leslie Scott is a woman. Makes perfect sense that a woman would invent something that, from my perspective, involves multitasking. Why multitasking? According to the description of Jenga, one must remove a block, all the while making sure that the block they are removing doesn’t topple the tower over. Sorry, guys, but women are the only creatures on earth that can multitask properly.

I’ve titled this blog with Balancing Your Worries-Jenga because if we are to stay sane, we must find a way to keep our worries under control. When you’re worried about something, you feel like you can’t handle another worry. It gets in the way of just about everything you try to do. Jesus speaks to this in these passages, which are part of His Sermon on the Mount.

God in Human flesh through Jesus makes Him able to understand human worries and realities. Worry makes you lose sleep, which also affects all that you do.

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Some of us are wired to worry more than others. Are you a world-class worrier? How do you find help when you worry?

Our kids today are highly anxious because parents are highly anxious. I suspect a lot of it stems from a 24/7 news cycles. It also stems from phones permanently attached to an overwhelming majority of people’s hands…adults and kids alike. That attachment comes from social media, which adds to worry.

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How can we deal with it?

We must recognize the difference between concern and worry:

CONCERN: A focus on others or other things

WORRY: More concerned with yourself

CONCERN: Motivates one to serve

WORRY: Puts up barriers

CONCERN: Constructive action comes into play

WORRY: Paralysis

CONCERN: Driven by love

WORRY: Driven by fear

CONCERN: Helping is the goal

WORRY: No goal

CONCERN: Strengthens relationships

WORRY: Smothers relationships

CONCERN: Grows our faith

WORRY: Faith becomes drowned in doubts

A way to press pause is found in (vs. 26-28). 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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.”

Don’t lose sight of the joy of living. It’s not bad to worry. We all do it. Just don’t let it control your life. Pressing pause is the same as trust.

Find your focus on seeking first the Kingdom. God helps you to find that sense of direction. You begin to count your blessings. Seek first the Kingdom of God.

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Lou Holtz’s philosophy. Lou Holtz is recognized as one of the best college football coaches in history. Lou developed what he called the “WIN” philosophy. WIN is an acronym for What’s Important Now. Simply put, it encourages us to focus on the present moment, prioritize effectively, resist temptation, and promote a winning mindset. If you are a worrier, I’d highly recommend this philosophy. Maybe even say it to yourself once a day.

At one point in my life, I was a professional worrier. I knew nothing of Lou Holtz, but one day a friend asked this question: “Is all this worry going to change one thing? Is it going to make things all better? Please tell me because I’ll start worrying 24/7.” My friend was right. Something clicked, and from that point on, I don’t worry (much). I do, however, pray a lot. 😊 Just as our scripture reads: Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Over the years, I’ve learned that what happened is over. Look at what you need to do now.

When you’re in the midst of a good worry, the best thing you can do is help someone. When you serve others, it blesses you more than it blesses them. You forget about your worries. It shifts the focus.

Are you pursuing God’s agenda and His Kingdom?

Might I suggest considering the lilies and the birds?

How much more will God help you? Find your way through the worry.

And that’s what I learned in Church……see ya next time!