THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.’

Or in a different translation, ‘Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.’ (Matthew 6.34)

A Bible quote that like many other guidance is easier said than done.

And is it right anyway? Many would argue we are not worrying enough about the future and that if we were to worry, or better still panic, we might actually respond more appropriately to the crises of our time. I have a lot of sympathy with that view.

I also know that managing to keep calm and act appropriately is likely to have better results.

When I first worked in theatre as a teenager I was told one must never shout ‘fire’. The code was ‘Mr Sands is in the house’. You weren’t to shout that either but being overheard was less likely to induce panic and give the staff time to leap into action, whether to put the fire out - originally using a bucket of sand, hence the code - or by controlling the safe evacuation of the audience. Not panicking certainly didn’t mean not taking action.

So with the crises of our time, whether personal or global, or anything between. When there are things we should say or stop saying, do or stop doing, it’s important to avoid making excuses.

Resilience to cope with whatever we face will help more than any amount of worrying. But try not to worry about worrying either.

The Reverend Liz Gibson, North Mull.