Beware

Matthew 6:25-27

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?

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Watch out now, take care
Beware of the thoughts that linger
Winding up inside your head
The hopelessness around you
In the dead of night

Beware of sadness
It can hit you
It can hurt you
Make you sore and what is more
That is not what you are here for

"Beware of Darkness" by George Harrison. This video is from George Harrison's "Concert for Bangladesh."

It would seem right to connect this passage with Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" except that the sentiment and the song are both vapid. Scripture and the work of the Christ are opposite.

"Do not worry" sounds easy enough, but turning on the news or picking up the paper gives ample worries. Tsunami, earthquakes, flooding, tornadoes-there's a lot to worry about and this is just the "natural disaster" category. Pile nuclear meltdowns, terrorism, economic woe, drugs, crime, and the like makes "don't worry" sounds like "put your head in the sand." It makes "don't worry" sounds like "don't be concerned," but I disagree.

When "Don't worry" sounds like "disengage from life" we've missed the boat. Disengaging is the last thing Jesus wants.

Jesus points out that the Father provides for the birds of the air. What Jesus doesn't say is that while God provides the birds have to go collect. They don't sow nor do they reap, but they still have to dig up worms. They still have to peck bark to find insects in trees. They still have to collect twigs to make shelter and then they have to build it. It's a two part process: God provides, and the birds use what God provides. God provides, but God doesn't provide pre-fab.

God has provided us with what we need to be concerned and with what we need to take care of those concerns.

George Harrison tells us that we need to watch out for are the worries linger, thoughts that wind up bringing hopelessness inside our head. He knows that this comes at the dead of night. He warns us that sadness hits and hurts. Sadness makes us sore, but that is not what we are here for. George had concerns, but he did more than rent his clothes and shake his fist at God.

The video footage is from "The Concert for Bangladesh." George Harrison and friends in connection with UNICEF presented this concert in August 1971 to benefit victims of the 1970 Bhola cyclone and victims of atrocities suffered during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. George was worried, but he did not put his head in the sand. He did what he does best, play music, and through ticket, record, and movie sales collected nearly $250,000 (in today's dollars that's almost $1.5 million) to help relieve suffering. Doing so, George Harrison invented the first modern benefit concert.

Worry is a waste, but disengaging from life is inexcusable. Being concerned is another matter, but only when we do something about it. God leaves what we need all around us to do His work. We are called to do it.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Matthew 6:28-30

And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you--you of little faith?

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Top coat, Top hat,
And I don't worry cause my wallets fat.
Black shades, white gloves,
lookin' sharp, lookin' for love.
They come runnin' just as fast as they can
cause every girl is crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.

"Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top

Ah, the story of "Dressed for Success" is one that we can all appreciate. I have heard that you should never dress for your current joy, you should dress for your next job. I have heard that there's nothing like a fifty dollar shine on a ten dollar pair of boots. I have heard it said that pastors should always dress well to project an air of professionalism because successful professionals only want to associate with other successful professionals. I have heard that you should always wear a belt, carry a handkerchief, and have a dime on you so you can make a call if you need to.

Then again, that last bit came from the late 70's when there were pay phones and calls were just a dime. Sometimes the best advice falls out of favor, it just doesn't matter any more.

I have also been told that the Lord our God was crucified atop a garbage heap wearing only a covering for his loins. What does our God consider "dressing for success?"

Jesus tells us that God loves all creation. It can be seen in a field of wildflowers. Such tableau of color, such a variety of texture, such a glorious aroma comes from the love the Creator has for creation. If this is what God does with dirt and sun and water, imagine how God dresses us?

What we wear everyday? That's the emperor's new clothes; God dresses us in love. We are created to be in a loving relationship with God. God's love overflowed so bountifully and so graciously that we were created to share that love.

Yes, there are times when we feel like we have been strapped to the tree of woe wearing nothing but a loin cloth and three nails. We feel like we have been forsaken by God. Yet, even in all of this, our promise is in redemption. Our promise is that there are people who are sent to shine the light of Christ. Our promise is that it is there. Our promise is that even in our faithlessness God has faith in us.

Even in the darkness, that's worth having faith in. Believe me, I know.