Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

The paper is so old that it’s faded. I noticed just the other day how it’s showing the wear of time. There’s a large square section that is discolored because of the years it hung where a small ray of sunlight hit it in the same place every day.

When you open the door to my office there hangs a framed piece of paper with three verses written out in three different types of calligraphy. The three verses are among the first I memorized as a young man, and they have spiritually served me more than I can capably communicate along my earthly journey. They were a gift from my brother who was taking a calligraphy class when I was graduating from college almost forty years ago.

One of the verses is from today’s chapter, the verses I pulled and placed/mentioned at the top of today’s post/podcast.

One of the most popular and influential books in the past year or two has been The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. It tells of the research showing that today’s emerging generation is experiencing unprecedented levels of anxiety and mental illness. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and meditating on this for multiple reasons. First, the customer and market research my company, Intelligentics, is doing on a regular basis reveals the same things on which Haidt is focused in his scholarly research. Also, I have so many young people in my life, my family, and my circles of influence whom I love deeply. My desire for them is not to be mired in anxiety, but to experience the “peace of God, which transcends all understanding.”

In the quiet this morning, I found myself wondering what I would say to this anxious generation. I think Paul has some sage wisdom for those whose minds and hearts are open to receive it.

First, Jesus is alive, very real, and He offers true hope. Paul experienced a transforming relationship with Christ. I have experienced and am experiencing it, too. If you pay attention, you’ll notice that the world very much wants to dismiss, diminish, and deny this. If you’ll give Jesus a chance, I believe you’ll experience a transformation, as well.

Next, there is power in the words I pasted above. I memorized them. Countless times, in the midst of anxiety, I have recounted them, whispered them, prayed them, thought them, and stated them over and over and over again. I beg you to give it a shot. Can’t hurt, might change your life.

Paul goes on to tell the believers in Philippi “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation…I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Our world and our economy are based on a system designed to keep us perpetually discontent with ourselves, our lives, our bodies, our circumstances, and our status. It does this because it wants to sell us things and keep us always reaching for the never-ending “more” it claims to offer that will make us happy. There are forces at work that want you to be anxious. Anxious and fearful people are much easier to manipulate and control. Paul, however, discovered a secret that Jesus taught:

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
Matthew 6:25-34 (MSG)

Finally, Paul told the believers to confine our thoughts to things that are:

True
Noble
Right
Pure
Lovely
Admirable
Excellent
Praiseworthy

The next time you find yourself scrolling, I encourage you to ask how much of what you see, hear, and read as you scroll fits these adjectives. May I humbly and respectfully suggest that perhaps there is cause-and-effect at work creating “the anxious generation.”

I was a young man when the personal computer came to be. When I was in high school we had a “computer club” for the very first time in history. The very first thing that I learned in computer club, the first lesson everyone was taught about this emerging technology was this: “Garbage in, garbage out.”

Underlying all of Paul’s sage instructions is a simple truth:

I have free will. I choose.

As a young man I chose to believe words written on what is now faded and discolored paper that reminded me daily not to be anxious but that instead I could pray, be thankful, and seek after things of eternal worth. They served me well. They will serve you well, too.

I’m praying for you.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.