I recently watched the film Bridge of Spies. This blog’s objective aside, I highly recommend this movie for several reasons. Staying on target, there is a line in the movie that sticks out to me. In his interactions with the “Colonel” (Rudolph Abel), Jim Donavan asks him the question, “Do you never worry?” Abel humbly responds with a question, “would it help?”
Abel’s response is very Jesus-like, if you ask me. He simply responded to a question with another question. In doing so, he hits on a subject in which Jesus addressed at least a few times in his teaching back in the day: anxiety and worry.
The story in Luke 10:38-42 specifically sticks out in my mind. In this short story, you have two sisters: Mary and Martha. Basically, Mary is hanging on Jesus’ every word, literally sitting at his feet. Martha is worrying about being the “perfect host” and having everything right. Martha gets pissed off at Mary not helping. Who was right? Who was wrong? Per usual, I’m not claiming an answer, but Jesus actually tells Martha, “you are so anxious and concerned about a million details, but really, only one thing matters. Mary has chosen that one thing” (Luke 10:41-42a, The Voice).
So what can we learn from Jesus and Colonel Rudolph Abel? I believe we can simply learn not to worry. Easier said than done and I’m not proposing that you shouldn’t actively work on the details of things. I am saying, however, that we, as humans, often get caught up in the details and the perfectionism of things. This causes a downhill spiral that leads us into constant worry and anxiety. And according to Jesus and the Colonel, worrying doesn’t exactly help. In my experience, things typically fall in place when we stop worrying about the details and just trust in a bigger picture in which we usually cannot see.
Though this blog is short and sweet this week, this principle will be easier said than done. And Christians, don’t think that saying “trust in God” is the cure-all. What are you practically doing to put your actions where your words are? We, within the body of Christ, can oftentimes easily state something to the effect of, “let go and let God,” but do our actions prove that we truly believe that? So, whether you’re more inclined to follow Jesus’ words or the Colonel’s words (or anyone else who has said something similar), I challenge you to walk away from the worries dragging you down and trust in the bigger picture that you probably aren’t seeing right now.
joshcogan 