1. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?
2. Who of you have worrying so much that you think you have taken a year or so off your life? Who of you have taken an hour off your spouse’s life by worrying?
3. Is there anything more valuable to you than staying alive? Will worrying contribute more that you value than your life?

So why in the world would we worry? The problem is simple you worry about what you value most. So the man that came up with these questions – Jesus said, “The things that we are most devoted to are the things we worry about.” You see I don’t worry about your retirement. I am not devoted to your retirement program. These things you most worry about are the things that reflect your core devotions. So if we know this how cane we redirect the things that are what we are devoted to. These are not my thoughts but they are good things to think about. Some 2000 years ago Jesus talked about these things. What if you shifted your devotion? What would your worry do?

Matthew 6: 24-34

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Do Not Worry 25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]? 28″And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Worry – God loves you more than the birds of the air, the flowers in the field and they are taken care of. So don’t you think God will take care of you. Some people might say then I don’t care about anything. Jesus is not saying don’t care. What he is saying is do all you can and leave the rest to God. He will take care of you. Do not dismiss you responsibility they are equally important. Do all you can then TRUST God to do the rest.
The number 1 thing in the Bible that Jesus talks about other than love is money. So in the above passage he launches the discussion in the contexts of money. In the US the number 1 thing that people worry about especially right now is MONEY. This is because of this current economics crisis. So lets look at where we place our devotion. To live Bold we need to learns to live life to the fullness by becoming a follower – or disciple – of Jesus. I am sure that this will shift our devotion to worry. Greg you on right on target… Andy Stanley just finished a 3 part series on Worry – Part 1 http://www.northpointministries.org/player/player.jsp?occurrenceID=3352
Main page of messages http://www.northpoint.org/messages much of my blog is his ideas above.