Have you ever seen someone sitting near you in a church service balancing their checkbook?  What would make a person do that?  Boring sermons?

I have been in a service before and while the minister was preaching, there was a person doing just that...balancing their checkbook.  Could it just be boring sermons?  Maybe it was a boring sermon, because I was the one preaching that day.  Or maybe it was something else.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:25, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life...." (NKJV)  The Greek word that is used here for worry is merimnao which comes from the word merizo which means "to divide into parts."  The suggesting is that of a divided mind, distracted by things that cause stress and worry.  In other words, wherever you are, you are not there in your mind.  Your mind is on other things, worried and not able to be present in the moment.  Maybe that is why the person was balancing their checkbook (I didn't ask them, by the way).  They may have just paid their tithes and offerings, and then were worried that they would have enough money to pay bills that were due.  Whatever the reason, that person was distracted enough to where they could not focus upon the message being preached...again, maybe a boring message...but rather felt the need to balance a checkbook.

The Christmas season is a wonderful celebration of the birth of our Savior.  It is a time where we rejoice, celebrate, go to special services, enjoy family gatherings,...and buy presents.  For many people, the activities of the Season, coupled with the economic times we face, create stressors that cause us...yes, I said us...to worry.  Will we be able to make it through another shopping excursion?  Will we have enough money to pay the bills?

For any other subject, when Jesus said "Do not ..." and then someone does whatever that is, we call that, dare I say it, SIN.  Jesus commands us, "Do NOT worry." (emphasis mine.)  So, when we worry, we sin.  Well, you probably don't, but I do. 

When I worry, no matter where I may be, I am not really there.  My mind is a million miles away.  I have a mind that is divided into parts.  When I am worried is the time that I hear my wife say, "You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?"  Well, uh, um, no honey, I was preoccupied, in deep thought, concerned, troubled, or whatever other word I come up with at the time.  I have never answered anyone with, "I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention, I am sinning."  No, we call worry - stress, anxiety, or something else...but we rarely call it sin.

However, worry points to our problem, instead of to our Solution, our Source...Jesus, our Savior.  That is why it is sin.  It pulls us away, divides us from the God who loves and provides.  It turns our focus on the hurts, pains, and struggles of life.  It is a trap that is set by its cousin - FEAR.  When we worry, we become fearful that things will begin a downward spiral in our lives with no positive end in sight.  That same fear then begins to paralyze us to the point that we cannot function, or even stay, in the moment.  When begin living tomorrow, today.

Jesus went on to say later in that same chapter, in verse 32, "...for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."  (NKJV)  Did you hear four of those words?  YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWS.  He knows!  God knows!!  Whatever you are worried about today...He knows all about it.  And He doesn't just sit on that knowledge.  Jesus goes on to say in that familiar verse 33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (NKJV) 

God, the One, True God, knows what you need, and will never leave you!  He is our Source!  So enjoy His Presence this Christmas Season, and say goodbye to worry.  Focus on the moment, and do not let worry divide your mind into parts...even if you find yourself listening to me preach a boring sermon.

Have a great one!... Um, ....I've got to go balance my checkbook.