Sunday, January 18, 2009

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
-- Matt.26: 26-27

Actually, studies are showing that worrying about aging or anxiety of any kind (stress) can actually shorten your life span by much more than an hour. In some cases, worry can shorten your lifespan by years. The hormones associated with negativity (worry, stress, anger) cause all sorts of health issues. Plus worry interferes with sleep, which, if you're anything like me, will just make you more fretful and grouchy.

It is possible, to worry yourself to death. Mark Stibich's article Top Ten Ways to Shorten your Life mentions stress and a negative attitude as two of the top ten ways to shorten your life. Anxiety, as the Scriptures point out, will not increase your lifespan by a single hour. So relax and trust God.

Interestingly, not going to church is another of the top ten ways to shorten your life. Looks like totally relying on God really is the better way to live a healthy life.

2 comments:

  1. Amen to that! Great post. I try to remind myself that every day...

    Hugs;
    Alaura

    ReplyDelete
  2. AMEN! Thanks for the reminder. I am too blessed to be stressed.

    ReplyDelete

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