Jesus declared ‘Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on’ (Matthew 6:25) and Paul similarly stated ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God’ (Philippians 4:6). So that is clear then. It is a sin to be anxious. Well, not quite. Let us think what we mean by anxiety.
Anxiety is a mild form of fear. It is the normal mental and physical response to a threat. If I’m walking along at night coming home from work and a hooded youth jumps out and threatens me with a knife then I become anxious or even fearful. What does such anxiety involve? My heart races, my muscles tense, I breathe more quickly and experience other physical responses to this threat.
At the same time, emotionally, I feel anxious. All of this is the inbuilt (or better God-built) reaction to any such threat. Such physical and emotional reactions are good because they prepare us for action. But the key point here is how do I think? Do I worry or do I trust God?
