Not so anxious

In discussing the teachings of Matthew 5-7, two of our classmates addressed the teaching of “not being anxious about your life,” as the most ignored yet important teaching and I am going to have to disagree. While anxiety disorder is one of the most commonly suffered psychological disorders and it does disrupt some of those sufferers lives to a great extent, the anxiety in today’s world does not measure up to the judging or hatred towards enemies which are two other more prevalent teachings.
In discussing hatred toward enemies, after September 11 we had hatred toward Al Quita and we are currently fighting a war over that hatred. Millions of lives have been lost to war, and the main motivation for war is most commonly hatred. The teaching says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” and if we could learn to do that, those who are anxious could possibly be at peace knowing there will be forgiveness and happiness.
In discussing judging, those who are anxious are commonly feeling that concerned, uneasy feeling due to wondering what others will think of them. While as a culture we pride ourselves on being “individuals” many of us are far too concerned with what our peers think of us and how we are perceived. This nuisance in the back of our mind commonly drives people to be very nervous and uptight about trying to fit into what society would like most. Without the constant judging, we wouldn’t have quite so much to be anxious about.