Worry will not add to your life

Matthew 6:27 (NKJV)

27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

No amount of worry can change a person’s height, nor change it change the years they live for these are by the providence of God. Zaccheus was a man short in stature and when he wanted to see Jesus instead of worrying he went into action to climb a tree to get a better view. There is nothing we can add to our lives by worry. We are best to stop and wisely think through the plans of the today and then tackle tomorrow when it comes for it will have its own challenges.

A 2012 article from The Atlantic observed that over the past 100 years we have often turned yesterday's luxury products into today's necessities.

In 1900, less than 10 percent of families owned a stove, or had access to electricity or phones.

In 1915, less than ten percent of families owned a car.

In 1930, less than ten percent of families owned a refrigerator or clothes washer.

In 1945, less than ten percent of families owned clothes dryer or air-conditioning.

In 1960, less than ten percent of families owned a dishwasher or color TV.

In 1975, less than ten percent of families owned a microwave.

In 1990, less than ten percent of families had a cell phone or access to the internet.

The article concluded by noting, "Today, at least 90 percent of the country has a stove, electricity, car, fridge, clothes washer, air-conditioning, color TV, microwave, and cell phone. They make our lives better. They might even make us happier. But they are [never] enough."

[Derek Thompson, "The 100-Year March of Technology in 1 Graph," The Atlantic (4-7-12)]

The true necessities of life are air, food, water, and shelter. Everything else we have are just luxuries. I look around today at all the kids with cell phones and I think that would have been cool to have as a kid. Yet I managed to make it through life until I was an adult without a cell phone. We didn’t have a clothes dryer when I was growing up. We took clothes down to the clothes line, hung them up to dry and came back later to take them back in the house. On really cold days the clothes would even freeze a little, but they would eventually dry. It was the rainy days you might have to drive to the laundry mat to use a clothes dryer or if you had a clothes rack and floor heat vent you might be able to dry them that way.

So let us all be prudent in the choices in life we make. Ensure the necessities are taken care of and everything is just something to be enjoyed. Put aside worry and make a plan for your life. Lean on God to show the direction for your life and what is important and what is not. Take each day one at a time for tomorrow will hold new issues and problems that must be addressed. Why worry about tomorrow it is not going to change the outcome of today.