Hi, my name is
Roger. I am a fretter. I have been fret-free now for ninety days.
If there was a
Fretters Anonymous, most children’s pastors would have to put down their
puppets and sign up. Most of us are chronic fretters. We see evil
gaining momentum in the world. We know the kids we minister to are
growing up in that world. Understandably, we look at the future with
fear.
It is easy to
become a fretter when you look at events that swirl around us. The news
brings us stories of international rings of pedophiles, out-of-control
spring break parties, public school teachers molesting kids, violent
gangs with no fear of law enforcement, and a few other social trends
that if I were to state them you would stop reading right here. The
world is a brutal place to grow up.
To make it worse,
I thought Christians were supposed to care. And everyone knows that if
you really care you will worry--I mean be concerned. (“Concern” is the
Christian version of worry.) How can we as children’s pastors look at
the downward social spiral and not agonize over what we see?
Is that you? Are
you so troubled over the sin you see around you that it pulls down your
faith?
Get a whiff of
this scripture. David had the same dilemma. Here is what God told him
THREE TIMES in Psalm 37:1-8.
1 DO NOT FRET
because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall
soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the
LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself
also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way
to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring
forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the
LORD, and wait patiently for Him. DO NOT FRET because of him who
prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to
pass.
8 Cease from
anger, and forsake wrath. DO NOT FRET-- it only causes harm.
Psalms 37:1-8 (NKJV)
That sounds to me
like God wants His people free from living under anxiety over the crazy
things the world does. “Do not fret because of evil doers” is more than
a suggestion or divine advice. It is a command as much as any command
from God.
In case you need
to hear it again, take a peek at Proverbs 24:19.
DO NOT FRET
because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the wicked;
Did you know that
one reason the Israelites who came out of Egypt were not allowed to
enter the promise land was because they fretted over their children?
But your little
ones, whom YOU SAID WOULD BE VICTIMS, I (God) will bring in, and
they shall know the land which you have despised.
Numbers 14:31 (NKJV)
The Israelites
looked at the giants in the land and feared for their children. They
were unable to factor in God’s ability to protect them from the threat
they saw. So the adults died in the wilderness because they were
unwilling to take by faith what God had given them. Their children,
however, grew up to do what their parents would not. Forty years later
when all the parents had died in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb,
their grown children marched up to the walls of Jericho
and began to take the land God had promised to their parents. Wow! Think
of that. Moms and Dads died living a hard life in the wilderness because
they were unwilling to take something God offered them. Their fretting
robbed them their entire lives.
The kids in our
children’s ministries deserve to see faith in you. Fear over the future
will not bring victory. Kids do not need to pick up on your fear of the
future even if you feel justified in your “concerns.”
Sure there are
giants in the land. But your kids are giant-killers in the rough. Make
sure your children’s church and small groups ooze faith, not fear.
