the tindog coffeehouse

I’m a little stressed right now.

In fact, truth be told, I’m pretty stressed most of the time. Usually about work or finances or my insanely long commute or the $2000 in medical bills I still owe from when I broke my leg and spent three days in the hospital.

Of course, I’m not alone. You’re stressed, too, admit it. Everyone is. It’s unavoidable. Stress is a by-product of modern-day life in America, and it’s largely caused by one thing: fear. Whole industries are built around this fact. Take the news media, for example. It used to be that the role of the media was to report the news. These days, though, it’s all about inciting fear in order to boost ratings. Think about it. When was the last time you heard a news anchor say, “Coming up, a new report shows no significant link between jet skiing and lung cancer.” No, instead it’s more like, “Coming up, why you’re going to die tomorrow unless you watch our news broadcast right this second. Seriously, YOU’RE GONNA DIE, PEOPLE!”

The media want us to be scared. They want us to worry. They want us to be angry. Just this morning on the way to work, a radio station I was listening to told listeners that after the break, “we’ve got a story about the TSA that will make you furious.” Their exact words. Their story? A 3-year-old girl threw a temper tantrum in an airport because a TSA agent X-rayed her teddy bear and then patted her down while her mother held her.

And why exactly would that make me furious?

OK, so maybe I’m not stressed over airport security. But maybe I should worry about how Obama is turning our country into a communist regime. Or maybe about the meltdown of our economy. Or illegal immigration. Or net neutrality. Or global warming. Or high fructose corn syrup.

You know those commercials where the husband gets a text message from his wife: “Are we going to have enough money to retire on? What if the market doesn’t come back? What’s Plan B?” And the guy doesn’t reply back because he realizes he doesn’t have the answer. That’s fear. That investment company wants you to be scared. They want you to worry. Most of us, however, can’t even begin to think about retirement because we’re too busy worrying about losing our job or our house or our hair.

As Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say, “It just goes to show you, it’s always something.”

Meanwhile, all this chronic stress is wreaking havoc on us physiologically: a weakened immune system, high blood pressure, increased risk of coronary artery disease, increased risk of cancer, greater obesity, depression, anxiety, loss of memory, and on an on. All because we’re constantly on edge about something. (And yes, I appreciate the irony of worrying about being worried.)

Listen, I’m just as guilty of being overly stressed as anyone. I worry about stuff all the time, a little bit of stuff that I can control and a whole bunch of stuff I can’t. The reality, though, is that most of our stress is self-induced. We bring it on willingly, sometimes even invite it into our lives. Maybe because it’s part of our nature. Maybe because we’re just stupid.

But we’ve got to learn to let it go, to not let fear control our lives, to let ourselves be consumed with worry and stress. Obviously, that’s hard to do. But what’s the alternative?

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“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. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

– Matthew 6:25-34

Previously:
Who’s in your mine?
What happens next
Defining ‘manhood’