Live Carefully and Prayerfully
"Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"
- Matthew 6:27
Worry will not make your life longer; it will just make it more miserable. In fact, worry can shorten your life-or at least make it harder. In addition to being obsessed with the outward appearance, our culture is obsessed with trying to lengthen life. We exercise regularly. We eat the right foods. We supplement our diets with vitamins and minerals. We get our physical check-ups in the hope of extending our lives for a few more years.
I am not making light of this; I think it is really a good thing to take care of your body, because you want to live as long as you can, and be as healthy as you can. But Jesus said, 'Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" (Matthew 6:27). The Greek word used here for 'stature" means 'length or duration of life." Effectively Jesus was saying, 'How many of you, through worry and anxiety, can extend the length of your life?" The answer is no one.
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There is a place for taking care of ourselves physically. We don't want to neglect that. But you can put too much emphasis on the physical, neglecting the spiritual. You can also put so much emphasis on the spiritual that you completely neglect the physical. God has put your soul in a human body. So take care of it.
Even so, understand that you will live as long as God wants you to live. Not less or more. You don't determine your date of birth, and you don't determine the date of your death. You do, however, have a lot to say about that time in the middle. That is why Psalm 90:12 says, 'So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Live your life carefully and prayerfully, and recognize that anxiety and worry will not lengthen your life.
