Chances are that you or someone you know seriously struggles with anxiety. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are reaching epidemic proportions. “The United States is now the most anxious nation in the world.”3 (Congratulations to us!) The land of the Stars and Stripes has become the country of stress and strife.
It’s enough to make us wonder if the apostle Paul was out of touch with reality when he wrote, “Be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6).
“Be anxious for less” would have been a sufficient challenge. Or “Be anxious only on Thursdays.” Or “Be anxious only in seasons of severe affliction.”
THE PRESENCE OF ANXIETY IS UNAVOIDABLE, BUT THE PRISON OF ANXIETY IS OPTIONAL.
But Paul doesn’t seem to offer any leeway here. Be anxious for nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Is this what he meant? Not exactly. He wrote the phrase in the present active tense, which implies an ongoing state. It’s the life of perpetual anxiety that Paul wanted to address. The Lucado Revised Translation reads, “Don’t let anything in life leave you perpetually breathless and in angst.” The presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional.
Anxiety is not a sin; it is an emotion. (So, don’t be anxious about feeling anxious.) Anxiety can, however, lead to sinful behavior. When we treat our worries with inebriation or angry outbursts, we are sinning. For that reason, Jesus gave this word: “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with . . . the anxieties of life” (Luke 21:34 NIV).