Just Worry About Yourself

"Just worry about yourself!" Was something I often caught myself calling out to the two year olds in my classroom (prior to Covid-19) when they would try to boss around or tattle on each other. I am quite certain that two year olds and addicts are the most exposed version of human depravity. By our very human nature, sticking to "just worrying about ourselves" is not something that comes easily to us. At the fall of man, when confronted by God himself, both Adam and Eve worried about anyone but themselves and passed the blame, saying what others had done wrong. 

Lately, I’ve been struggling more than usual to just worry about myself. I could go on and on telling you all the things that other people have been guilty of doing to me in the past year. And while that hurt is valid, the more important reality is that God did not ask me to deal with my husband's sins, or my parent's sins, my brother's sins, my in-laws sins, my coworkers' sins, or anyone else's sins. God called me to deal with my sins.

Imagine for a second that I'm the two year old during play time trying to tell the other kids what to do or not to do and tattling on them. God would be the exasperated teacher telling me for the umpteenth time to just worry about myself. 

Why? Not because God is just tired of my whining but because my attempts to control anyone but myself are futile. When I finally get comfortable being out of control over other people and release them to the care and control of God, to let him do what only he is able to do, I will find peace. On the flip side, as long as I'm consumed worrying about other people's sins I will be filled with anxiety over something I can do nothing about and I will never be able to take ownership and make progress dealing with my own sins. As long as I keep the focus on them and their problems the focus won’t be on me and my problems. While that seems easier short term it is fruitless and miserable long term.

So today, I am asking God to help me take my eyes off of what other people are doing. I am asking him to help me to just worry about myself and what I am capable of doing through the power of the Holy Spirit. And I am asking him to give me his love for the people around me that I may extend the same level of grace to them that he does to me.

Matthew 7:3-5 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”