Does the Bible Really Say That?: Discovering Catholic Teaching in Scripture (18 page)

CHAPTER 45

Why Worry?

The Lord knows that in this life we’re exposed to many people and situations that cause us to worry. After all, we don’t call it a “vale of tears” for nothing.

Though Genesis 3 doesn’t mention “anxiety” as one of the curses meted out to humanity as a result of Adam and Eve’s original sin, it might as well have. The Bible’s description of human events since our first parents were expelled from the Garden of Eden—the only worry-free zone mankind has ever known—is one long account of vexation, consternation and anxiety. In other words, it’s the story of how sin affects us.

The truth is that sin breeds anxiety. It’s like the legal catchphrase “Use a gun, go to jail.” Especially when we’ve committed serious sins, we inevitably worry about what we’ve done. That’s what our consciences are for: to alert us that something is wrong and, hopefully, to prompt us to remedy the situation through repentance. Many people are consumed with worries—not because their lot in life brings them unavoidable problems (as some people’s lives do), but because they persist in doing things that are contrary to God’s will for them. And their guilty conscience is like an alarm bell with no snooze button. It keeps rattling the soul, no matter how vigorously they try to block out the noise. When unrepented sin infests your life, worries will multiply just as surely as flies leave maggots. In Sacred Scripture, the Lord teaches us that the cure for sin-induced worry is repentance and forgiveness. And, happily, just as sin causes worry, virtue subdues it. The life of a virtuous person is free of the worries caused by sin. What’s more, the greater one’s faith and hope in the Lord, the less one will be prey to anxiety caused by external things.

The following passages from Scripture show us that we shouldn’t worry about things we can’t control and that we are doomed to worry about the thing we
can
control, namely, sin. The message is: Live a good life, avoid sin, seek to do God’s will and you’ll be free of needless worry and anxiety.

Philippians 4:4–7
  “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

1 Peter 5:6–7
  “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.”

Psalm 94:17–19
  “If the
Lord
had not been my help, / my soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence. / When I thought, ‘My foot slips,’ / thy steadfast love, O
Lord
, held me up. / When the cares of my heart are many, / thy consolations cheer my soul.”

Proverbs 12:25–28
  “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, / but a good word makes him glad. / A righteous man turns away from evil, / but the way of the wicked leads them astray. / A slothful man will not catch his prey, / but the diligent man will get precious wealth. / In the path of righteousness is life, / but the way of error leads to death.”

Remember this: living a sinful life inevitably causes worry, anxiety and, eventually, leads to physical and spiritual
death.

1 Maccabees 6:8–13
  “When the king heard this news, he was astounded and badly shaken. He took to his bed and became sick from grief, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. He lay there for many days, because deep grief continually gripped him, and he concluded that he was dying. So he called all his friends and said to them, ‘Sleep departs from my eyes and I am downhearted with worry. I said to myself, “To what distress I have come! And into what a great flood I now am plunged! For I was kind and beloved in my power.” But now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem. I seized all her vessels of silver and gold; and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without good reason. I know that it is because of this that these evils have come upon me.’”

In Mark 4:13–20 (see also Luke 8:9–15), Christ explains to his disciples the meaning of the parable of the sower. Notice that one of the types of soil—the one covered in thorns—quickly choked off the seed that had been scattered there. One of these “thorns” Christ warns about is described as “the cares of the world.” In other words, there are people who are so consumed with worry about the mundane details of life that the graces God wants to lavish on them go unused—indeed, are
made unusable
—because worry prevents them from ever taking root in the soul. He also warns that worry can so consume us that we risk being unprepared for his return, not to mention that day on which each of us will die and stand before him to be judged (Hebrews 9:27).

In Luke 21:34–36, Christ gives a strong warning: “But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man.”

There are times, of course, when worry is unavoidable. Saint Paul spoke several times about the anxiety he suffered on the behalf of his fellow Christians (2 Corinthians 11:28). The real issue, however, is how we
handle
our worries. Whether it’s an unavoidable external trial or just needless anxiety we create for ourselves, we can choose to deal with the problem virtuously (i.e., by entrusting the problem with loving faith to God’s fatherly providence). Remember Christ’s consoling promise to us:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. 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 which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious 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 arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day. (Matthew 6:25–34)

CHAPTER 46

Love One Another

Christ said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). He wasn’t referring to love as a mere emotion, the syrupy, romanticized “love” that involves no suffering and demands no sacrifice. The kind of love Christ meant is
charity
: the steadfast, self-giving, humble, courageous, act-of-the-will love that seeks the good of our neighbor, even if it means sacrifice or suffering on our part.

True charity involves loving others who may not be particularly likeable, much less loveable, including those who don’t reciprocate that love. In the face of your charity, some may be all the more hostile and resentful. But Christ calls you to love them nonetheless. This is the basis of the communion of saints; this bond of charity unites all the members of the body of Christ (Romans 12:3–6).

As we’ll see in the following passages, each member of the body of Christ is called to seek the good of all the others.

John 13:34–35
  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 15:12–17
  “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.... This I command you, to love one another.”

Notice that Christ specifically linked Simon Peter’s profession of love for him (“Simon, do you love me?”) with the command, “feed my sheep.” And the Lord reminds all of us that charity for one another is second in importance only to loving God (Matthew 22:38; Mark 12:30–31, 1 Corinthians 13). This law of charity is emphasized in the New Testament at every turn, especially in the form of intercessory prayer.

Galatians 6:2
  “Bear one another’s burdens, and so [you will] fulfill the law of Christ.” 

Romans 12:10
  “[L]ove one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor.... [C]ontribute to the needs of the saints.”

1 Corinthians 10:24
  “Let no one should seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” 

1 Thessalonians 4:9–10
  “But concerning love of the brethren you have no need to have any one write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.... But we exhort you, brethren, to do so more and more.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11, 14–15
  “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up.... And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak...always seek to do good to one another and to all” (see 2 Corinthians 1:10–11).

Christ’s law of love is a standing command for all in his Church. It doesn’t matter whether a Christian is living here on earth or in heavenly glory, in the immediate presence of the Lord: all are still bound under Christ’s command to “love one another.” On earth we can carry this out through physical acts of charity (Matthew 25:31–46; James 2:14–17), as well as spiritual acts of charity, especially through intercessory prayer on behalf of others (1 Timothy 2:1–4).

Saint Paul exhorts Christians to pray, supplicate, petition and intercede for all people. He emphasizes that intercessory prayer “is good, and it is acceptable [some translations use pleasing] in the sight of God our Savior” (see 1 Timothy 2:1–4). Similar exhortations permeate the New Testament:

Romans 15:30
  “I appeal to you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf.”

2 Corinthians 1:10-11
  “[O]n him [Jesus] we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us in answer to many prayers.”

Colossians 1:3, 9–10
  “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.... [W]e have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to lead a life worthy of the Lord.”

And here are some final thoughts from Saint Paul worth pondering: “[M]y heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1), and “I remember you constantly in my prayers. As I remember your tears, I long night and day to see you” (2 Timothy 1:3).

To those who argue that the saints in heaven do not pray for us, I would pose this question: In light of Saint Paul’s intense desire to assist others through his prayers while on earth, is there any reason to imagine that upon entering heaven his charity and desire for others’ salvation would be quenched and his prayers for others cease? Not at all. All members of the body of Christ, including those in heaven, practice charity.

And this is why we ask those in heaven to pray for us (1 Timothy 2:1–5).

Further Reading:
Matthew 5:42–46; 19:19; Mark 12:28–14; Luke 6:27–36; Romans 12:9–13; Galatians 5:9–13; 6:2; Ephesians 4:4, 32; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 4:9–10, 18; Hebrews 3:13; 1 John 4:7–21

CCC,
1822–1829, 1965–1974, 2093–2094