every little thing is gonna be alright

How did this classic Bob Marley hit get into my Chapel service drama for a Christian Bilingual school? Here´s how...

Don´t worry, the whole skit isn´t about ¨Reggae theology,¨ even though that might be fun and interesting to do. It does go there a little bit though, and we have definitely gone there with my 6th graders in devotionals the last week or so. It has really connected, so I wanted to share a little more about this relaxed, dread-lock view of Christianity.

Where did I get it from? If you´d like, open your Bible to Phillipians 4:6...

Do not be anxious in anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Paul says ¨don´t worry... pray!¨ Where else does it come from? Please turn again to Matthew 6:25-34...

Do Not Worry

"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? Look 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? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If 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? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

We actually got into this idea when we talked about prayer for a couple weeks. We finished up memorizing that verse from Phillipians. So we got into it by thinking about how to pray, and then why to pray. When we pray, God will answer our prayers. If we are praying and trying to go God´s way, and He says our prayers will be answered, why worry?

That´s what Paul tells us, and then what the passage in Matthew confirms for us. Phillipians 4:7 (the one right after that first one) is one of the most quoted verses ever for a benediction:

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will gaurd your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

So why pray? For that peace. If you are praying about something, you don´t need to worry about it. If the birds find food, you will also find food. If the lillies in the fields are well clothed, you will be too.

I don´t know if you can remember, but in 6th grade I bet you worried about a lot of things. I´m pretty sure I worried about a lot of things, and I am definitely sure that my students have a lot of things on their plate to worry about. This year they will graduate, they have a community service project, regular school work, and big end of the year exams that only 6th graders take. They also have stuff going on at home, and it isn´t easy there for all of them. Not to mention that one or two of the boys´ voices are starting to change, and they have that whole puberty thing to look forward to. One boy is very tall, and the other boys I´m sure will catch up. 6th grade is a worrysome year.

But it helps us to know that Jesus says don´t worry. We started the year talking about God having plans, good plans, big plans. And if God has big plans, God will take care of them. That doesn´t mean it will be an easy road. That doesn´t mean no exams or no homework or no problems at home or it´s easy to be on honor roll. But what it does mean is that if we give God that control, if we let go of our anxiety, of our worry... God tells us to have peace.

One of Dulce´s favorite phrases in English (probably in either language) is ¨don´t worry, be happy.¨ Anytime I start to stress or look stressed, I know exactly what she is going to say, ¨don´t worry, be happy.¨ It´s a good philosophy, you know. People who worry less are happier, and people who are happier will do better work and be more successful. Sounds like a pretty good way to go to me.

I mean really, who likes to be worried or stressed? And then I get stressed, and I think more about being stressed than what I need to be doing. It is an awful down-ward spiral... being stressed and worried.

To end it, I like to put things in perspective. Is it the end of the world? Is it going to kill me? If the answer is no, why kill myself about it? I know, we have deadlines and important stuff, we´re busy... but really, stressing doesn´t fix anything. It makes us less happy, people around us less happy, and pretty much everything worse.

So stop worrying. Let God be in control. Be peaceful.

Does that mean it will always work out like a garden of roses? Well, it hasn´t been that way for me yet. I don´t think that really happens. But I do know, even though it isn´t always easy, even though sometimes I don´t like how it all works itself in the end... it is always better if I wasn´t too stressed about it, if I am relaxed and peaceful instead of stressed like crazy.

Reggae theology... ¨Don´t worry, be happy!¨