Lilies in our Field--by Linden Malki

"Worry" is one of the most commonly used words in the English language as of this century.  The word was originally a verb that described a predatory animal harassing its prey;  it became a  "thing"  describing an mental process in the mid 1800's and really began to increase in use by 1950 and is on a sharply climbing curve by 2010.

The word "worry" does not appear in  early English translations of the Bible; the 1611 King James translation uses the words "take thought",as does the Catholic Douay translation;  and the American Standard translation of 1901 uses the word "anxious."  There was a new generation of translations in the mid 20th century; the Revised Standard (RSV) uses it 8 times, the  New American Standard (NASB) 11 uses; the New International Version (NIV) 15.  The latest generation of translations is more worried: the latest Catholic New American Bible (NAB) uses it 21 times; the New Revised Standard (NRSV) 23 times, the New Living (NLT) 38 times, and the popular paraphrase The Message uses it in 56 verses.  What is God warning us about?

It is ironic that we apparently become much more aware of danger: generations that had more immediate everyday dangers used words that were less negative than we use today. Statistics have been published that indicate that many of the things we worry most about are often very low probability. It has gotten to the point that just this week, the State of Utah passed legislation that permits 10-year old grade school children to walk to school by themselves without the parents being arrested for child endangerment. This is fed by the definition of "news"--the more unusual the incident, the more dramatic and newsworthy it appears. What is the reality?

The Old Testament says very little about "worry"; most versions have few if any usages of the word.  The major mention is in the Gospels, where both Matthew and Luke quote Jesus' teaching about the providence of God. This is God's reality!  Our challenge is to recognize when we are supposed to use the abilities and brains He supplied, and when we need to stop fussing and let Him deal with it.  The NCF church family has been there, done that, and are seeing God's field on our corner bloom in His Glory!

There are a few mentions in Paul's letters, my favorite of which is Romans 8:28, where he says that "all things work together for good for them that love God."  That verse held me together the summer that my dad passed away and my life took an incredible turn that brought me to San Bernardino. The key thing I hung onto was the realization that it never says any of the "things" are good or bad, just that we are taken care of through whatever.  Or as a friend of mine puts it, "I've read the end of the book--we win!"