25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?" - Matthew 6:25-30
In high school, I was eleventh in my graduating class. I know this because I had the exact same GPA as the 10 ranked student, and Scholarships were awarded only to the top 10 students; and not to me. I argued this as much as I could, but to no avail. There was no additional funds for another scholarship, and to give it to me would mean taking it from the other guy. These rankings are arbitrary, of course, but it was a terrible feeling, being NOT in the elite of the school. It was very easy to get into a funk about it, and to feel like I'm somehow "less than;" ignoring the fact that I was every bit as good as the number 10 student.
I was also denied admission to the National Honor Society. The claim was that I didn't have enough "service" on my application. I had shown how I participated in fund raisers, and performances which benefited charities, but apparently, that wasn't what they were looking for. I became very resentful of this and the fact that I missed out on the scholarship, and began creating conspiracy theories about how the NHS was prejudiced against musicians. See, most of my grades came from music classes, and nearly all of my service was performance-related. I chose to exist in a world where people were actually trying to keep me from succeeding out of jealousy, or prejudice. I have no idea why I would want to live in that world, it seems to me to be rather miserable.
Especially since the world WASN'T out to get me. It turns out that the world is pretty good. It's a world where I get to participate in all of those classes and performances, and help the charities I helped. It's a world where I'm NUMBER 11 in my class, which is not too shabby after all! It was my personal mental attitude that prevented me from seeing the wonderful world around me.
Jesus taught us to reconsider the world WE live in. In Matthew 6, He tells us not to see the world as one where we might run out of food or clothing at any moment. To stop worrying about how we will survive, and instead begin to see the world as God actually created it: Abundant, Beautiful, and Plentiful. There is, it turns out, a lot to be thankful for, we need only choose to recognize it.
Lord, thank you for the wonderful world You created. Help us to see the world as a bountiful place to enjoy, and not as a horrible place that we need to survive. Help calm our minds when we begin to doubt. In Jesus' name we pray.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. - Matthew 10:29-31
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