Worrying Accomplishes Nothing

𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟐𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓. 𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐔𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐙𝐀𝐆𝐀

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟐 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟏𝟐:𝟏-𝟏𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟑𝟒:𝟖-𝟏𝟑 “𝐓𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝.” 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥: 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟔:𝟐𝟒-𝟑𝟒

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔.” (𝒗.32)

         People worry about a lot of things, especially in times when the economy is not at all good and this is natural. But when people worry a lot and it already occupies most of their time and space, this may no longer be healthy.

         Sure, there are bills to pay, and we worry about what to eat and how to put food on the table for your family, and what to wear. At times we even worry that we can’t go on vacation anymore or we can’t afford to change cars every two years like we used to. We may even say to ourselves: “this watch has been on my wrist for ages, and I need to buy a new wristwatch, but I don’t have any money to spare.”

         The question is why we need to worry about these things. What Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel reading is that worrying will not add anything to our life. Jesus asks: “𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓?” (𝒗.27) and Our Lord is right because worrying is a choice made by those who don’t trust God.

         Think of the Psalmist who said: “𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓! 𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉. 𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 – 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎.” (𝑷𝒔𝒂 37:8) Psychologists describe anger and worry as two of the most destructive emotional states that people should stay away from. It also reveals a lack of faith in the truth that God loves us and is in control.

         When we do find ourselves in times of trouble, we should instead put our trust in God and turn ourselves to him for his use and safekeeping. When we dwell on our problems we will end up getting anxious and angry such that it affects our nature that we could either isolate ourselves and withdraw from life’s mainstreams or we can be angry at a lot of things and or at people including those who are close to us.

         We must understand that worrying can be harmful because of its ill effects and Jesus is telling us in this Gospel that we should not worry about those needs that God promises to supply. “𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖! 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉.” (𝒗.30)        

         Even medical practitioners will tell you that worry can damage your health because worrying in a worst-case scenario can consume your thoughts. In the process, too much worrying disrupts your productivity and worst it affects the way you treat and relate to others and most importantly, worrying reduces your ability to trust in God.

         Conversely, we should not lump worrying with concern because these are two different things. Worry immobilizes us such that it removes from us the ability to look objectively at problems we face while genuine concern moves us into action.

         If anyone of you may be feeling the negative effects of worrying right now, the right thing to do is to immediately stop and start going down on your knees and place all your worry before the altar of Grace. Instead of worrying about what we cannot do, we should instead focus on what God can do.

         I used to worry a lot, and it's related to what I did when I was still a media practitioner as there were many times that I stepped on other people's toes and many of them have the capability to take me out of this world. I used to go around the block where I live for at least three times with my guns within easy reach before I would stop and step out of the car and open the gate of my home. I developed the uncanny ability to sense if someone's following me when I'm walking on the streets and even when I am driving, my vision extends not only to what is in front of me but also around me. In other words, I have practically filled my life with worrying about something I may have created in my mind. And worrying became a thing of the past when the Lord found me and brought me to the renewal.

         To give God primacy over our lives means turning to God first for help at the first sign of trouble and let God fill all our thoughts and we can do this by acquiring his character as our behavioral pattern and to serve and obey him in everything.

         In life we will have experienced that people, objects, goals, ambition, quest for power and fame, and the insatiable appetite for wealth all compete for priority and almost always it creates a barrier that keeps God out of our lives. When we find ourselves in this situation, we must remember to keep things from their proper perspective. Planning for tomorrow is time well spent but worrying about tomorrow is a waste of time.

         There will be times we may not be aware of the difference. Careful planning is thinking ahead to set up goals and objectives but always trusting in the guidance of God. When done this way, such planning removes the worry part because worrying brings fear and the difficulty to put our trust in God. First and foremost is that we should not allow our worries to interfere with our relationship with God.

         The key to removing worrying in our lives is to replace it with something better and that is – prayer. St. Paul tells us: “𝑫𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅.” (𝑷𝒉𝒊 4:6) 

         It may seem impossible not to worry about anything as we all have worries about our job, finances, at home, in school, how we are perceived by others, we worry about our reputation in the business community to which we belong and, in the church, or community.

         When Jesus uttered the word “𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆” in 𝒗.25, he is suggesting a paradigm shift from worrying about mundane things to placing our complete trust in God. Jesus is showing that worrying about material things is foolish because it accomplishes nothing and he is reminding us to have look at our values because life is more than just food and clothing.

         And Jesus points to how God cares for nature – the flowers, grass and birds. What Our Lord is saying is that we are more valuable than nature and certainly God will care for us since He knows our needs if only we will put Him primacy over anything else – meaning making him first in our lives. How then can we personally relate to 𝒗.33?  We can start with our time by putting God first every day.

         This means making time for prayer and reading the Word of God. We shall put God first every week by going to Mass faithfully every Sunday. We put God first every payday by paying our tithes to the Lord. We also put God first in our choices by avoiding decisions that don’t include God in it.  

         But Paul is advising us to turn our worries into prayers. What Paul is telling us is that if we want to have less time for worrying, then we should pray more. When you start to worry, then stop and pray because it is in prayer that we can find peace.

         The peace that God offers us is different from the world’s peace (𝑱𝒏 14:27) because true peace is not even found in positive thinking, in the absence of conflict, or even in feeling good. True peace comes from knowing that God is in control. What we must keep in mind is that our citizenship is in heaven and believers are assured that we can have victory over worry and anxiety by letting the peace of God guard our hearts. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 21, 2025)