The Misery of Worry

A friend of mine who’s a doctor told me there’s actually a condition called broken heart syndrome. It’s also known as octopus heart, because it affects the shape of the heart.

Sudden bad news, such as the death of a loved one or some other traumatic event, can cause fear, fright, and anxiety. When these take hold of us, the tip of our hearts enlarge immediately, and it can result in depression, chest pain, heart failure, or even death.

So worry may actually shorten our lives. Sometimes we might even think it’s a virtue to worry, but it isn’t. Worry doesn’t resolve problems; it simply creates new ones. Worry doesn’t make life longer; it just makes it more miserable.

Jesus said, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” (Matthew 6:27 NLT).

Yet some people are trying to extend their lives using the latest technology. I read an article the other day about a number of billionaires who are trying to find a cure for aging. One billionaire wants to have a microchip connected to his brain.

Meanwhile, other billionaires are having blood transfusions from healthy people between the ages of 16 and 25, believing it will reverse the aging process.

These things will not extend your life. God determines the date of your birth and the date of your death. But you have a say about what happens in between. Someone wisely pointed out that “life is not measured by its duration but by its donation.”

Don’t worry so much about how long you will live. Instead, think about how you are living. Every morning God deposits 1,440 minutes into your bank of time. You choose how to spend those minutes. Think about what you’re doing with this precious commodity called time that God gives each of us every day.