It has been suggested that the chief problem with worrying—other than the obvious fact that it is rarely productive—is that it tends to scatter our energies. When we start worrying about all the things we need to do, or feel we ought to do, or are still planning to do, it isn’t long before our minds have set up camp in a hundred places, all at once. In effect, we are pulled in so many different directions that we end up furiously spinning our wheels to the point of exhaustion, without moving an inch!

We all know that excessive worrying does little good, but no matter how hard we try, we still find ourselves fretting about this or that. Indeed, in my experience, one of the least effective ways to stop worrying is to try and not think about it. Maybe that approach has worked for some of you (and if so, I’d love to learn your secret); but whenever I am told, “Just don’t worry about it,” I usually start worrying about it all the more.

This is why Jesus’ advice in the Sermon on the Mount—“Do not worry about what you will eat, or what you will wear”—has always struck me as being somewhat impractical. How can he possibly expect us not to be concerned with the basic necessities of life? Granted, “One does not live by bread alone” … but then again, one isn’t going to live very long without it either!

However, upon closer examination, I think we may be misreading Jesus’ intent. He is not saying, “Just put the worries out of your mind.” What he is saying is, “First, put your minds on the kingdom of God, and then all of those other concerns will fall into place.”

It’s almost as if he were saying, “If you want to worry about something, worry about that which is worth the effort and energy. Worry about larger, more significant things than tonight’s dinner menu or tomorrow morning’s meeting. Worry about the things of God—truth, life, and love!”

Does this mean that we will suddenly stop sweating the small stuff? Probably not. As long as we live in this world, full of tensions and troubles, our minds will never be entirely free from worries. But if we can keep returning our hearts and minds to the kingdom of God, then we may eventually be able to smile at our worrisome selves, and even come to realize that the only things that really matter are the matters of heaven!