Live Carefully and Prayerfully

“Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”

— Matthew 6:27

 

Worry will not make your life longer; it will just make it more miserable. In fact, worry can shorten your life—or at least make it harder. In addition to being obsessed with the outward appearance, our culture is obsessed with trying to lengthen life. We exercise regularly. We eat the right foods. We supplement our diets with vitamins and minerals. We get our physical check-ups in the hope of extending our lives for a few more years.

I am not making light of this; I think it is really a good thing to take care of your body, because you want to live as long as you can, and be as healthy as you can. But Jesus said, 'Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" (Matthew 6:27). The Greek word used here for 'stature" means 'length or duration of life." Effectively Jesus was saying, 'How many of you, through worry and anxiety, can extend the length of your life?" The answer is no one.

There is a place for taking care of ourselves physically. We don't want to neglect that. But you can put too much emphasis on the physical, neglecting the spiritual. You can also put so much emphasis on the spiritual that you completely neglect the physical. God has put your soul in a human body. So take care of it.

Even so, understand that you will live as long as God wants you to live. Not less or more. You don't determine your date of birth, and you don't determine the date of your death. You do, however, have a lot to say about that time in the middle. That is why Psalm 90:12 says, 'So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Live your life carefully and prayerfully, and recognize that anxiety and worry will not lengthen your life.

Focus on What Lasts

"And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are."

— Matthew 6:28–29

We live in a culture that is obsessed with appearance. We will be so concerned about what we are going to wear. Is this in style? Does this look good? Do I look fat in this? And we have taken this obsession to the point of changing our bodies with plastic surgery, spending billions of dollars on it each year.

Yet Jesus said, 'And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. . . . These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs" (Matthew 6:28–29, 32).

Flowers don't worry. Why should you? Even Solomon in his royal robes, surrounded by his lavish furniture encrusted in gold, was not as beautiful as a simple flower. The Bible is not saying we should not be attractive. But it is saying we should not be obsessed with our looks. Frankly, some people ought to think a little bit more about their looks. There is a place for that too. We can go too far either way.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to look good. But if that becomes more important to you than your spiritual life, if you spend all of your time on the outward and completely neglect the inward, then your life is out of balance.

One day, this body will be gone, but the soul will live forever. As Erma Bombeck once pointed out, 'Sooner or later, dust wins." Our souls—the real you and the real me—will live on forever. So if this greater thing is in God's control, then we can leave the lesser things to Him as well.

What Do You Have To Say?

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.  He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help."  There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.

He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up.  A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.  The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning?  What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind.

Learn to:  Be thankful for what you have.  Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.

Face your past without regret.  Handle your present with confidence.  Prepare for the future without fear.  Keep the faith and drop the fear.

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling…  And it is even more beautiful to know that you are the reason behind it!!!

Focus on What Lasts

"And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are."

— Matthew 6:28–29

 

We live in a culture that is obsessed with appearance. We will be so concerned about what we are going to wear. Is this in style? Does this look good? Do I look fat in this? And we have taken this obsession to the point of changing our bodies with plastic surgery, spending billions of dollars on it each year.

Yet Jesus said, 'And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. . . . These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs" (Matthew 6:28–29, 32).

Flowers don't worry. Why should you? Even Solomon in his royal robes, surrounded by his lavish furniture encrusted in gold, was not as beautiful as a simple flower. The Bible is not saying we should not be attractive. But it is saying we should not be obsessed with our looks. Frankly, some people ought to think a little bit more about their looks. There is a place for that too. We can go too far either way.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to look good. But if that becomes more important to you than your spiritual life, if you spend all of your time on the outward and completely neglect the inward, then your life is out of balance.