Here is a third and final excerpt from David Powlison’s recent blog post on worry.
Jesus starts out by saying, Your life is so much more than food or clothing. There’s so much more to who you are than what you have or don’t have. Jesus refers back to the story of the rich man who was a fool: “for this reason” points back to what He’d just said. That rich man’s life was not made by the fact that he had lots of money. Money couldn’t give him identity or meaning or security or life. Therefore, Jesus adds, “If that’s so, then your life can’t be unmade by the fact that your finances are tight.” What you have or don’t have is not what’s playing in the theatre of the universe. Your life is more than food and clothes. For starters, what matters a lot more is “Who do you fear?” and “What do you do with Jesus?” Those are life and death.
You’ve probably known people, as I have, where it’s obvious that they are living for very empty, foolish things. Have you ever seen a twenty-three-year-old woman who was living to be beautiful? She’s living for her face. You say, “That is the stupidest thing in the world! If you live for your face, the best that can happen is you grow old and wrinkly. Come on! That’s a losing bet right from the start!”
What if you live for your health or for your athleticism or for adventures? Inevitably, you start to get knee injuries after age thirty-five. Your reflexes slow down. You get old. Systems start to break down. And, sooner or later, you surely die. “You fool! Isn’t there more to life than health and sports and vacations?”
It’s like that with everything we live for— and worry about. If you live for money, you are banking on a clunker. The car is a lemon, but you spent everything you have on it. It will always break down and give you reason to have worries on top of your worries. Your life is so much more. There are better things to give your energies to. I promise you this. I promise you that there is something much more important going on in your life than the stuff you worry about. Go through your worry list one by one. Jesus promises, “Your life is more than __________.” Something much bigger is playing in town. That’s promise Number 1.