As those of you who have been reading for a while might know, there is a movie clip for every situation.
This is clip for "Not Caring So Dang Much About Stuff That Is Transient".
I was tempted to use something stronger than "dang", so bear with me. This is a bit of a rant; it's been brewing a while.
Here's the thing. As Christians we know we're supposed to care, right? We're supposed to be desperately interested in
people and their eternal destiny--in preaching and living the Gospel. And we're supposed to be consumed with
God--loving and obeying and enjoying Him.
What we are specifically
not supposed to care about is Stuff. Want some examples of Stuff?
1. Money - whether we're making enough, too much, or more or less than someone else. We're supposed to do with it what God tells us and refrain from peeking at other people's.
So stop caring so dang much about money, especially the ways other people spend theirs.
God provides, and It Just Doesn't Matter.
2. Things - this should be self evident but isn't, especially because I think we tend to limit "
do not worry about tomorrow" to "
do not fret about whether a hurricane will flatten your house, but go ahead and fret about whether or not the bulletins are folded correctly, there is enough chairs for Sunday School, and the sound system is working". (Ask me why, as a preacher's kid, that example sprang to mind.) Want a less specialized one? "
do not fret about whether you will die in a car wreck, but go ahead and worry about housework, what people think of your Facebook post, and the state of your front lawn". Stupid, right?
So stop caring so dang much about things, and whether they are done the right way.
God is sovereign, and It Just Doesn't Matter.
3. Political outcomes - oddly enough nowhere in the New Testament are Christians urged to revolt against the slavery-endorsing, warmongering, idolatrous, sexually wicked, abortion-performing, Christian-killing, tax-gathering Romans. On the contrary, they're told to pay their taxes and be good citizens as long as possible without engaging in the sins around them, and if that means martyrdom, we're not shown that there's an option besides "you can try to run away".
So stop caring so dang much about who wins what elections and whether it makes you a better Christian to participate in a protest march (no).
God chooses who gets political power, and It Just Doesn't Matter.
4. Stressful situations - Here is another specialized example. The Husband is by nature a very organized and efficient person, with a nearly hyperactive work ethic. If he starts something, he will finish it, and it will be done well. This is a good trait, one I admire about him, and one I wouldn't change. But it makes it difficult for him when he works with people who are lazy, disorganized, and who will only work if they are afraid someone with the power to fire them is watching. (We've all met those people.) The Husband has realized he has a choice: either spend a lot of his time angry and frustrated with lazy people, or choose not to care so much about their poor work ethic - i.e., trusting again that God is sovereign, and refusing to pick up the slack for people.
God can discipline people if need be, you don't have to do it--nor do you have to do more work than He has given you. It Just Doesn't Matter.
Why is it important to Stop Caring So Dang Much About Things?
Well,
first of all it's very often a good way to obey the numerous "do not worry" admonitions in Scripture. Worry and stress stem from
not trusting God. Of course it's natural to be anxious in anxiety-inducing situations. It takes grace and prayer to put anxiety aside. If you didn't have to
choose to trust God, then there wouldn't be any of these admonitions in the Bible.
Secondly, it's helpful if we're trying to obey the admonitions to be kind, gentle, and patient. (As Miss Boo would chant, in a shout: "BE! YE! KIND TO ONE ANOTHER! EPHESIANS 4:32!") When we're worried and stressed, it's a fertile breeding ground for irritation, anger, bitterness, grudges and
hatred. Here's the thing. If we
know that allowing ourselves to be stressed (and by that I mean emotional stress as well as lack of sleep, poor eating habits, hormone fluctuations, and anything else that affects us that way) is liable to make us unkind, then we have the obligation to do whatever we can to reduce that stress--
just like we have the obligation to flee from other situations that are likely to cause sin.
I understand there are some seasons of life that come with high stress, whether that's sickness, financial distress, many small children tugging at your clothes, or whatever. But in each case there are things we can do--we can step away from commitments, we can choose to nourish ourselves in the Word of God, we can choose to dwell on uplifting, happy things, we can choose to get enough sleep, deal with physical issues, eat properly, and so on. We're not responsible for removing all stress from our lives. But whatever we
do have control over, we
are responsible for.
See,
the commands to be kind, gentle, patient, and not worry are just as forceful as the Ten Commandments. God really means these things, and He doesn't ask us to do things that are impossible.
Thirdly, it's at least as important to avoid poisoning our bodies with stress as it is to avoid poisoning them with toxic substances. There are people who are so worried over whether or not they're consuming a carcinogen that they age their bodies in a daily bath of stress chemicals. This is a matter of stewardship and also common sense. Take care of your worry so you can do the job God has given you.
Fourthly, Not Caring So Dang Much About Things frees up your emotional energy to allow you to care about things that
do matter. If Satan can keep us focused on elections, our tiff with other believers, whether or not the pew is comfortable and the coffee is hot, whether we like the music, whether our houses are clean enough, whether our kids are quiet enough, whether our weight is the right number, what the abortion clinics are doing, whether our neighbors think we're weird, and on and on and on, we literally won't have any time to dwell on whatever is true, good, and beautiful. The good stuff, the love for others and for God, will be crowded out of our hearts by all the weeds.
The saddest part? The weeds are like static on a radio. They're an illusion. They'll be gone tomorrow. They matter not one iota in eternity. They Just Don't Matter.
Cheers,
Breanna
