A Little Less Stress

Stress

Show of hands, who wants more stress in your life?

Think of all the things we worry about.

Health. All the issues we’re dealing w/. Yours? Your spouse? Family? Friends?

Afraid to die? Soon?

Money. Running out of it. Debt. Buying what we need.

Relationships. Marriage. Kid. In-laws.

Fire danger this summer. Hadn’t been bad. But it could still happen.

House repairs.

Cars die at inopportune times. Repairs? Replacement. Time. Money.

What people are saying about you around MP. Your rep. Lies. Truth.

Tomorrow? Next week?

What else?

What are you worried about that stresses you the most?

We all probably know Jesus said not to worry. Don’t worry about your life. So, if I do worry, does that mean I’m sinning? Now I’m worried that I worry too much.

I read a survey, statistics, that said, 85% of what we worry about never happens.

Then, of the 15% that does, of the ppl who worried about it, 79% said, either it wasn’t as bad as they thought. They handled it just fine. Or, there was a valuable life-lesson in it that changed their life for the better and they appreciate having gone thru it.

Either it never happens. Or, if it does, it’s not that bad or its results are good.

Does that change your perspective a little?

What can we do on a day to day basis, to reduce the stress we have in our life.

One thing, choose not to worry so much. It’s probably not going to happen anyway. If it does, then it won’t be as bad as you think, or it will end up changing you for the better.

That’s the negative. Don’t do this: Don’t worry about.

What can we do positively, to reduce the stress we feel? Jesus had a few things to say about this.

If we spend less time thinking about ourselves, and more time thinking about what we can do to help other people, then Jesus said our stress level will go down.

Focus less on ourselves and more on what we can do to help alleviate the stress of others will reduce the stress we feel in our life.

We’re in this longer passage in Luke. Last week Jesus gave us 4 characteristics to focus on developing in our life as we live in a skeptical or even hostile toward Christianity culture.

Today, in this passage, He is speaking to believers. Those who have faith in Jesus to be saved, have been changed by the HS from the inside out, and have our reservation in Heaven for eternity.

And, He teaches us these things b/c He knows we are going to stress too much about things we don’t need to stress about. So, what do we do instead?

He starts out with a parable. It’s set up by a question from the crowd. The point of the parable is be thankful, be prepared, and be generous.

This is known as the parable of the rich fool.

Be Thankful, Be Prepared, and Be Generous.

Luke 12:13–21 NIV

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

The question sets up the parable. We don’t know much at all about the situation.

Rabbis often were called on to help settle inheritance disputes b/c it was clear in the law who was supposed to get how much.

Sorry ladies, only the sons inherited their father’s estate. The oldest son received a double portion. So, if there were 4 sons, the estate would be divided by 5. The oldest would get 2/5. And the rest 1/5. If there were 2 sons, then the estate was divided by 3. The oldest got 2/3 and the youngest 1/3. Simple.

So, based on the parable that Jesus is about to use to teach a lesson, we can infer a few things.

The bottom line was, the man wanted more of his father’s estate from his brother.

Remember, too, from last week, Jesus had left the Pharisee’s house after the meal and was now speaking to his followers. The crowd was so large people were walking all over each other.

In crowd, the focus of Jesus’ attention and teaching were many believers. Others were around, too. Hoping for a miracle or something other than what Jesus came to do.

But, what’s important here, is to understand this parable and the following teaching is for those of us who have come to faith in Jesus to be saved.

Once again, how are we to live our lives and function in a skeptical, or even hostile, anti-Xian culture?

In this case, don’t be greedy. Don’t be motivated by greed and the strong desire for more. Don’t be preoccupied w/ what you don’t have, desiring even more. There is always more if this is your attitude and focus.

Be satisfied w/ what you have. Take care of it. And use it for good.

Here’s the story of man. We don’t know much about this man, either. Except, the man had very productive land. His farm was successful. And, his storage bins were too small to store the harvest.

If his harvest was that abundant, we also know the climate had to perform so his crops could produce. This was God’s provision for the man. It literally fell into his lap.

The man in the story gave no credit to God for nature doing what nature does since God created it and set up that way. He showed no appreciation nor thankfulness for God did to set him to be so successful.

Every good gift comes from God. It may come thru a paycheck, social security check, investments. It may come thru a job or a business. But remember, God gave you the brains to figure out what to do and the brawn to make it happen. Credit where credit is due.

Appreciate your ability to make a living, make wise decisions, and be successful b/c it came from God. No one stood in line, while still in their mother’s womb, and made requests for such things. So, to begin w/, thank God for everything you have no matter what you did to get it. Ultimately, it came from God.

Back to the man in the parable. He had a natural dilemma. His harvest was too large for his barns and bins. So, what should he do about the surplus?

Notice how many times he referred to himself. My crops. My barns (plural). My surplus. I said to myself, “You, meaning me, have plenty of grain for many years. I can take it easy now. I can eat, drink, and be merry, totally focused on myself.

Me, me, me, me, me, my, my, my, my, my. Nobody else.

God would approve of his diligence and hard work. God would also approve of his plan to preserve the surplus and not let it rot or spoil.

The problem that God would have with the man is his attitude. He was greedy completely self-absorbed. He does this all for himself, no one else. He believes he alone is responsible for providing for himself. Therefore, he believes everyone else is responsible for providing for themselves. He has no responsibility to help those who are poor and in need.

He was not satisfied w/ what he had. His crops produced healthy harvests. Then, there was the surplus. He could have built the barns to store the grain until he gave it away to those who had needs.

He lived his life for himself, focused on himself, working to make his life better, taking credit for everything he did and had.

God said, “You fool.” A fool is someone who acts w/out consideration of God or w/out wisdom about potential problems. The man did not consider God at all. Nor, the problem that once he spent all the money and built bigger barns he would die and He would not benefit on bit from his work, others would.

After he went to all the trouble to provide for himself, it did him no good. It bought him no time.

From this parable, to reduce our stress, it’s good to plan, save, prepare, preserve what God provides you. This man created a problem between him and God when he did all this good stuff but purely for his own self interests.

But, first, be thankful to God for everything you have. The only reason you have it is b/c God gave you the raw materials to get it done. You are much less responsible that you may realize for what you have. And feeling totally responsible will increase your stress level

Second, be satisfied w/ what you have. Be satisfied w/ everything God provides you.

Too many believe if they could just hit the mega-lottery, then they’d be happy and satisfied. Truth is, if you never satisfied w/ a little, you’ll never be satisfied w/ a lot.

Third, be generous w/ you stuff. Be intentional about being aware of those around you who have needs that you can meet. You have enough. Others may not. Make serving and helping others a higher priority than serving yourself.

If you will be more aware of the needs of others, then not only will you be less aware of you own needs, but you will realize what you thought was a need may not be a need at all. You have so much more than so many in the world you don’t need to stress over what you don’t have.

Next, Jesus gets specific. Don’t worry about your life. Don’t make these things the focus of you life. There is one thing that you can focus on that has multiple facets, that will help reduce you anxiety and stress.

Make God Your Priority

Luke 12:22–34 NIV

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

First, Jesus is not talking about the anxiety that comes from a chemical imbalance in your body. Sometimes, we need a doctor’s help.

But there is so much we worry about that is completely unnecessary.

Jesus says, “Don’t worry about that stuff.”

And, he gives 3 reasons why we shouldn’t.

First, God will provide what you need.

Now, we Americans may need to take a hard look at what we think we need. The Israelites survived on manna in the wilderness for 40 years. The same thing. No variations. Fried, boiled, roasted manna. Every meal, morning, noon, and night.

We have no way of knowing if it was gluten free. It certainly was not GMO. There was no MSG to enhance the flavor. It was purely organic. But they probably picked up a little dirt and sand when they picked it up off the ground. So think for just a minute about what you think you need that is in your refrigerator and pantry right now.

What could you survive on? If it all was loaded up in that proverbial hand basket, what would we do? Well, we live in a forest. There is meat throughout. We have gardens. And, a lake. A water filter might be a good idea. Besides that, it appears, God has already provided for the needs of Munds Park.

Maybe, applying what we learned from the parable above, we don’t need a bigger fridge or more pantry space or freezers to store too much more. For us, it’s all right there.

Jesus’ comparison is between us humans, ravens, wildflowers, and grass.

It’s going to get cold so we’re going to need some clothes. And for the sake all that’s good and decent, please keep it all covered up, we have the raw materials all around us to make whatever we need.

And ravens. They are the least respected of all the birds in the world. They don’t take care of themselves. In fact, they don’t even feed their own young. The ravenettes, or whatever they’re called, are left to fend for themselves. If God did not provide for them, no one would. And there are a lot of ravens alive in the world.

This make the story of the ravens that fed Elijah when he was on the run in the wilderness even more significant. God sent the ravens to bring him food. They don’t feed their own. But, it goes to show what God will do for us ppl, because we are much more valuable to him than plants or birds.

The second reason God said not to worry is it does no good for you. Worrying does not add a single day to your life or improve how you feel.

It only add wrinkles, gray hair, ulcers, and shortens your life. It doesn’t change anything for the better.

Worrying about what you will wear or eat does not produce anything you can wear or eat. It may blind you to God’s unexpected provision.

So, unless you enjoy it, stop doing it.

Third, worry is the attitude of unbelievers. Those who have no faith in God or Jesus to save them.

If all you have is this life, then stuff is the only thing that matters. If there is no Heaven, then make you life on earth as good as you possibly can. Be self-centered. No one else is looking out for you.

And, there is so much that can take it away. Moths eat cloth. Rust destroys metal. Food rots, molds, and spoils. The gov’t can tax it away. And thieves can steal it away.

Locks only stop honest ppl. If someone wants you stuff, nothing will stop them from getting it, unless you’re there to defend it. But now you have something else to worry about. Will you be there, can you resist. You’ve lost your freedom.

Grab all the gusto you can. By hook or by crook. B/C, if there’s nothing after this, they why sac anything here.

This is the attitude of the Pagans.

But, God knows what you need and will provide it. If you stress about these things to the point that is preoccupies you, debilitates you, paralyzes you; then Jesus’ response to you is, “you of little faith.”

Believers, whose faith is so weak and underdeveloped, they waste their time worrying about what God has promised to provide them. When we could be spending our time being productive.

There you’ve got the negatives. Don’t worry for these reasons. Then, Jesus gave the positive. If we’re not to be preoccupied worrying about these things, then what should we be preoccupied with?

What does it mean to seek the kingdom?

It means do all that you can to do things that will characterize the kingdom of God. When you pray, say your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Then, set out to let God show you your role in making it happen.

Be less concerned about making money, saving money, spending money. Spend more time and energy investing in things that pay spiritual and eternal dividends.

Here Jesus even emphasizes how vulnerable we are. He calls us a little flock when He says don’t be afraid. Sheep have no defense. They are completely dependent on their shepherd. And He tells us not to be afraid. If we were on our own, then our life would be characterized by fear. No teeth, no claws, no speed. We’d be sitting ducks for the wolves that prowl around.

Then, Jesus said, not only don’t worry about collecting possessions, give what you have away to those in need.

Jesus’ emphasis here is not on giving away our possessions, but helping those in need.

Don’t just give your stuff away to impress God or gain his favor. But when you see a need you can meet, do it.

Matthew’s parallel passage says something very similar. Matthew wrote that we should store up treasures in heaven that moths can eat and it won’t rot or spoil.

Just like the man in the parable who stored up grain on earth, we can be proactive, intentional, planning, and prepared to store up these treasure that will pay eternal dividends.

On this subject, Paul wrote this in 1 Cor. 3.

1 Corinthians 3:10–15 NIV

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

At our judgment, all the things we did in our life will go thru the fire of judgment. Like a conveyor belt carrying what we produced. The worthless things we did are like the wood, hay, and straw that will burn up and waft away into the air.

But the things we did that produced eternal spiritual dividends, the gold, silver, costly stones; the time you took to help a friend in need, the check you wrote to pay for someone else’s bills, the conversations you had that led someone closer to Christ, the bible studies you taught, the kids’ classes you led, the OCC boxes you packed, the pulled pork sandwiches and brats you served ppl in this community to communicate to them they are welcome in this place where they will meet ppl just like them who can help them find the answers to their problems and meet the One who can fix what’s broken in their life, the kingdom things you contributed to will melt down in a glob of weighty value and will survive the fire of the judgment.

Your eternal rewards will be determined by that weight that survives the fire.

This is written to believers. As Paul wrote, even someone who does little for the kingdom will still be saved. But it will be as though you narrowly escaped the flames. Your hair might get a little singed.

But for those who invest heavily in the things of the kingdom, the rewards we receive will be more than that and we will enjoy them for all eternity.

Reduce your stress by reducing the amount of time, energy, and money you spend on yourself. Plan, budget, prepare, and be intentional about doing more for other people that leads them closer to Christ.

If want more stress in your life, don’t consider God at all. Only think of yourself and how you are responsible for everything you have or will ever get. Oh, and think about all wolves lurking at your door to take it all away.

Otherwise, trust God. Don’t be afraid of anything. Be intentional about doing more for other people.

Applications

Budget, plan, save, prepare

The people who give the most money to ministries are not necessarily the ppl who make the most money. They are the ones who plan the wisest.

Build your storage barns and bins. Save and invest your money. But do it with the intent to be able to serve more and help more; not be self-serving.

Gold, Silver, Precious stones

Who wouldn’t want more? But not the literal ones. What can you do, who can you join who’s already doing more for the kingdom?

Lead more, participate more, give more, help more. What more can you do that will add the weight that reward you eternally?

Enjoy what you have

Be satisfied w/ what you have. Never get caught thinking you’ll finally be satisfied if only you had a little more. There is always more. Never enough. You will never be satisfied w/ a lot until you are satisfied w/ a little.

Be thankful for everything you have, acknowledging the only reason you have it is b/c God provided the raw materials for you to get it.

Less stress. Turn it down. Reduce the amount that you think you are solely responsible for in your life. Reduce the amount of time, energy, and money you spend on yourself. Reduce the priority of yourself in your life.

If we spend less time thinking about ourselves, and more time thinking about what we can do to help other people, then Jesus said our stress level will go down.

Focus less on ourselves and more on what we can do to help alleviate the stress of others will reduce the stress we feel in our life.