Anxiety and the Purposes of the Kingdom

I was reading some of the spiritual writings of Soren Kierkegaard the other day. Among the myriad of subjects upon which he is a prophetic authority, Kierkegaard also understands the spiritual dimensions of fear, despair, and the concept of anxiety. It's the concept of anxiety that most interests me. In his Christian Discourses, Kierkegaard writes that anxiety is a grappling hook by which the prodigious hulk of fear gets a hold of the individual to dominate it under its power. He further deems anxiety a distraction.

Jesus talks about anxiety in his famous Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:18-22; Mark 4:14-20; Luke 8:11-15). In this parable, Jesus is teaching his disciples about the different reactions people have from hearing about the good news of the Kingdom of God. Some people ignore the good news, others hear the news and, after and initial burst of enthusiasm, fall away because they never had a proper foundation for their faith. Then there are those who hear the good news, have the foundation, but do not bear the true results of their faith because they are choked by the world. Jesus used the analogy of thorns that choke a plant, preventing it from bearing fruit. This immediately reminds me of one of the results of the Fall of Man where authentic work of tending to the earth is now frustrated by the growth of thorns (Genesis 3:17-19). In the same way, the world is constantly producing frustrations and distractions that inauthenticate our lives prevent us from living out our faith fully.

Jesus lists a few of these distractions in generalities: wealth, abundance of possessions, food, and pleasures of the world. It's important to note that these things are not necessarily bad in of themselves. They become bad when they distract you from growing in your faith and doing God's work.

But Jesus also mentions one other distraction and frustration that can prevent full growth in the faith: the cares of this world. Now the word used in the New Testament in these parables is merimna and is best translated as "anxiety". This is the anxiety and fear that strangles and cripples the individual and distracts him from accomplishing the personal growth and service necessary to achieve the goals of the Kingdom of God.

There are endless examples of such anxiety and fear. A few that pop to mind are concern for finances, fear of people's perceptions of one's self, fear of achieving or maintaining status and possessions, concern for health, and fear of the unknown. These anxieties hinder you from making the right decisions, silence you from speaking truth, and focus your attention on the peripheral fluff while avoiding central issues.

Merimna is used a few more times in the New Testament. It is used in Luke 21:34 when Jesus warned the people not to be distracted from the coming destruction of Jerusalem by Rome. Paul uses the term in 2 Corinthians 11:28 when describing the troubles and burdens he faced as an apostle. Along with the beatings, shipwrecks, pains, hunger, thirst, and other sufferings he experienced that sought to prevent him from preaching the gospel, Paul adds the anxiety that comes upon him ministering to the churches. Like his other sufferings, this anxiety sought to distract and prevent his Kingdom work.

Finally, Peter uses merimna in his first letter when talking about suffering and submission (5:7). He quotes Psalm 55:22, saying, "Give all your anxiety to [God] for he looks after you." Essentially, this is the same teaching of Jesus when he tells his disciples to avoid fear but have faith in God who looks after you (Matthew 10:28-31).

Throughout this letter, Peter is delving into some of the more scandalous aspects of Christian ethics with regards to defeating evil through submission and suffering. Much of this is counter-intuitive to the way in which we generally understand the world to work. However, there are ways in which we can go about giving our anxieties to God. My personal experience has shown me that some individuals - because of personality or life experience - have a more difficulty not worrying than others.

So how do we do so? How do we give our anxieties to God?

1) Tell God your troubles, sufferings, and concerns. This is an engagement with God, opening our hearts and minds to receive the message and instruction we need at this particular time.

2) Trust that God is who he says he is and that he will do what he says he will do. This means that whatever God tells us through Scripture or authentic, subjective experiences is what he will do. A significant part of this is to realize and immerse yourself in the Gospel message that God is defeating evil and has the final victory. The more we inculcate ourselves in this reality, the fewer anxieties we will have.

3) Do exactly what God says. Neither of these previous two points means doing nothing. Of course, telling the Creator of the Universe your problems and believing that he'll act in accordance is definitely something we do. But even after that, giving God your anxieties is then about proceeding in accordance with God's instructions and not going beyond that. The innate human tendency is act out upon our own devices. We sometimes want to do more than God wants us to do or to take actions that are counter-productive to the best solution.

4) Limit the distractions in your life. Cut back on possessions, activities, and the peripheral aspects of life towards a more simplistic , less chaotic existence. Our modern, consumeristic society has the potential of choking us and distracting us from the our proper purposes. If we can simplify our lives, we lessen the potential for the anxieties that come from such things.

In the end, anxiety is a force seeking to inauthenticate our lives by separating us from our purpose in God. It is a force to be overcome, and we can do so by fully embracing God and his purposes.