Half-Minded Thinking

Most of us do not like doing anything halfway.  The American motto is to give 110% (of course we all know that there cannot be anything more than 100% - where did that myth come from???).  "If you are going to do something, do it right!"  Sound familiar?  "That was a half-hearted attempt!"  We are so critical of those who are operating in less than excellence, those who choose to just get it done versus accomplishing the true goal that was set before them.  We condemn, judge and analyze other people's efforts.  Yet are we asking ourselves whether there is an area of our lives in which we are operating halfway?

The Greek word merimnao is a compound of two words: merizo and nous.  Merizo  means to divide.  Nous means the mind.  The simple translation for merimnao is worry.  Worry is essentially dividing the mind.  No question that our mind is a powerful entity that is capable of handling many thoughts at once.  Those of us who have mastered multi-tasking know all about that.  However, research is now proving that this mastery of multi-tasking is actually harming us in many ways.
 
"Take a moment and think about all of the things you are doing right now - obviously you are reading this article, but chances are good that you are also doing several things at once. Perhaps you're also listening to music, texting a friend, checking your email in another browser tab or playing a computer game."  About.com Psychology   Guilty!!!  As I am researching to write this blog, I am guilty of almost all of the above.  My inbox is open in another window and while I was reading and copying to paste, an email came I that I chose to answer immediately (actually several).  Plus I am listening to Pandora Radio and oh by the way, I have a little photo window on my desktop that is scrolling through my albums that catches my attention.  Oh and the phone just rang so I took a call. Yikes!

The same article quoted above goes on to say, "productivity can be reduced by as much as 40 percent by the mental blocks created when people switch tasks. Now that you understand the potential detrimental impact of multitasking, you can put this knowledge to work to increase your productivity and efficiency."   if this is what science is telling us about the detrimental aspects of dividing our mind, think about the significance of what the Word tells us.  

Worrying is indeed dividing our energy between that which is in front of us that is to be handled today and that which is yet unknown - tomorrow.  Matthew 6:25-27 "So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life -- whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not."  That last verse is the most powerful - all of our worrying will not add a single moment to our lives.  Yet as the research is clearly discovering, it can truly subtract moments from our lives.

"Chronic worrying affects your daily life so much that it interferes with your appetite, lifestyle habits, relationships, sleep, and job performance. Many people who worry excessively are so anxiety-ridden that they seek relief in harmful lifestyle habits such as overeating, cigarette smoking, or using alcohol and drugs."  Web MD  Is that God's best for us?  Is that His heart for us?  No.  Absolutely not.  In a concordance search on the word worry, I found 36 instances in which the word worry appeared.  Out of those 36, 28 contained the command, "Don't worry" and an additional 4 stated, "Why worry".  That is 89%.  Sounds to me like the Lord is really serious about this.

I'm sorry, what did I hear you say?  I don't understand what you are going through?  How can you not possibly worry about your finances, your family, your job, your relationships, your life?   Let me ask you a simple question, does all of your worrying change any of these circumstances?  The answer is no.  The act of worrying does nothing to change the circumstances but it does severely impact your attitude, your mental and physical state.  Action changes our circumstances, particularly action that is Spirit-led.  God does not call us to sit in the middle of our junk and not do anything about it.  He does instruct us though to trust Him in the midst of these circumstances and obediently follow His counsel to move through these situations.

Psalm 23:4 Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.  Worry is often accompanied by fear - fear of the unknown, fear of what is going to happen tomorrow, fear of failure, fear of - you name it.  However if we are trusting God to carry us through these circumstances, to be with us in the midst of them, then there is no room for worry or for fear.  When we worry, we are telling God that He is not big enough to handle our situation.  Really??  The Creator of all that exists including us is not big enough?  Sounds pretty silly doesn't it?  Yet that is exactly what we are saying when we worry.

I challenge each of you for the next several days to visualize yourself under the care of the Good Shepherd.  Think about how protective and caring He is no matter what we have done, where we have wondered off, or how we have impacted the rest of the flock.  When a worry comes into your mind, see yourself looking up to your Shepherd and saying to Him, "I sure am glad that you have got this handled."  Then give it to Him.  If you want keep a record of all of these instances and then in a week or so look back at this list and see if keeping it as a worry would have changed the outcome.  Perhaps some of your worries are more long term.  Then ask yourself this question, "5 years from now will this worrying change the outcome?"  Remember I am not saying anything about taking action.  I am simply talking about the act of worrying.


My prayer for each of you is that you will experience a new level of shalom in your life as you trust the Good Shepherd with your total life and all that comprises it.