2023-06-14 03:07:32
Who never went through the experience of feeling anxiety? In today’s world, this sensation has been increasingly common even in children and adolescents, something worrying from the point of view of mental health, but also spiritual, according to Pastor William Barcley, leader of the Sovereign Grace Presbyterian Church, located in North Carolina. North, United States.
In a recently published article, the religious leader pointed out differences between anxiety as a reflection of personal care about something, and sinful anxiety, which all Christians should pay special attention to.
According to the pastor, anxiety is a “serious matter”, which is why it is treated in the Bible, for example, in passages like Matthew 6:25 (“do not be anxious for your life”) and in Philippians 4:6 (“do not be anxious about nothing”).
“These verses do not represent friendly and comforting advice, such as ‘everything will be alright’”, says Pastor Barcley, emphasizing that they are “biblical commands”, which is why “disobeying these commands, therefore, is a sin. ”
what is not a sin
For Pastor Barcley, however, there is a kind of “anxiety” that does not constitute sin. He cited as an example the concern of the Apostle Paul in caring for the Church. “The Bible does not say that all worry is sinful,” he says.
“The apostle Paul, exercising the office of a shepherd, experienced a proper concern. He informed the Corinthians that, in addition to the other difficulties he faced, he was daily burdened with ‘concern for all the churches’ (2 Cor. 11:28).”
He continues: “In this verse, the Greek word for ‘concern’ is the noun form of the verb referring to ‘be anxious’, the same verb used in Philippians 4:6 quoted earlier. Despite this, what Paul describes to the Corinthians is not a sinful anxiety (or worry) that he has, but a godly and loving concern.”
what is sin
On the other hand, Pastor Barcley said that there is a kind of sinful anxiety, and it was exemplified by the Bible when relating Jesus’ contact with Mary and Martha, in Luke 10:38-42.
“Martha wore out what was good and lost sight of the best. She worked hard serving Jesus, but lost sight of Jesus himself”, says the pastor, explaining that the concerns that make us anxious are legitimate, in fact, but they should not be greater than our ability to rest in the providence of God. God.
“That, in a nutshell, is sinful anxiety. This is to wear ourselves out with legitimate concerns while taking our eyes off Jesus,” says the pastor in his article shared by Let’s go back to the Gospel.
“In other words, sinful anxiety places the cares and responsibilities of the world above Christ. They end up taking first place; Christ takes second place,” he points out.
“We can say, therefore, that the sinful concern is the result of the act of moving away from Christ, which leads the person to carry undue burdens. For this reason, Paul exhorts the Philippians: ‘Do not be anxious about anything; in everything, however, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of Jesus, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’ (4:6-7).
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