| Dr. J.R. Miller | Page 9 |
Another of the reasons Our Teacher gives why we should not worry is the uselessness of it. We cannot, by being anxious about our height, for example, make ourselves any taller. A great deal of the worrying that is so common is over matters that we have no power to change. There is much fretting about the weather. There are many people who never get it just as they want it. They are always complaining and finding fault. But whoever heard of such fretting changing the weather? It were better to accept it as it comes and be cheerful, whichever way the wind blows, and whether it be hot or cold, rainy or dry.
There are many whose condition in life disappoints them. They are poor, and have to work hard to provide for those dependent upon them. They have trials and hardships to endure. Difficulties confront them. Their lot in the world is not easy. Sometimes one can change one’s circumstances, better one’s condition, by making an earnest effort. This should always be one’s aim. God desires us to make the most of our life. He would not have us continue to live in unpleasant conditions which, with a little energy and taste, we might transform to comfort. If the roof leaks when it rains, we ought to mend it, and not fret and chafe over it. If the fence is broken, and our neighbor’s cattle get into our garden and injure our plants and flowers, we ought to repair the fence instead of worrying over the annoyance. If the chimney smokes, we ought to have the flues cleaned out or the defect remedied in some way, and not continue to sit in the smoke and breathe the sulphorous fumes. There are many worries of this class which we ought to have sense and energy enough to cure for ourselves without vexing our souls with anxiety over them.
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