Christians and Anxiety

Welcome to Thinking Christian with Dr. James Spencer on Life Audio. I'm Richard Beatty, and today we just wanted to get caught up on what's going on and what it really means in terms of thinking Christian. James, with all that's happening in the world and the world stage from politics to the economy, as well as all the obstacles we all face in our walk, how does anyone make sense of what's happening right now? Well, I think the first thing that we have to really understand is that none of this is particularly out of the ordinary. It's out of the ordinary for us. And, you know, I think, you know, I'm a Gen Xer, and so we've grown up, I mean, I lived through, let's say, the Iraq war, right? But that was a very different sort of conflict than, say, Vietnam or World War II. I mean, as I've studied those other wars, it's a very different context, a very different sort of war. And it had a very different response in America. And so my point there is that, you know, the generations tend to have sort of defining moments. And so my generation, that might be 9-11, the terrorist attacks on 9-11, might be the 2008 housing crisis, right, where sort of the bubble burst and all of a sudden a lot of folks my age had to foreclose on their houses. And so there have always been sort of catastrophes and things going on around us. But I think, you know, especially for folks my age and even a little younger, millennials and Gen Z folk, we're not exactly used to looking out at the world in this much turmoil. And so there's a sense in which it's just very new for us to watch these conflicts play out. I think you add to that, you know, just a general lack of sense of history, a social media system that has a way of reinforcing false opinions or even beyond false opinions, just sort of misleading opinions, you know, things that are too simple put out on platforms that really aren't designed to give deep nuance and discussion. And so then I think that puts us in a place where we are primed to react as opposed to understand and then respond. That reactivity is, I think, the biggest issue that I see right now facing us as we look at something like the, you know, Israel-Palestine conflict, the war in Ukraine, you know, these various areas that we're seeing all these problems. We are just sort of primed to react in one way or another as opposed to really deeply understanding what we're looking at. Yeah, and you know, the thing that is interesting to me is that because, you know, we have so many places where we can vent and react, there's so many of these places. And then at the same time, we're hearing that, you know, people are worried about losing free speech, you know, or the discourse or, you know, a civil conversation over any of this. And so what is that about? Well, I think that, you know, there was an interesting article in The Washington Post maybe last week, and there was this whole social media sort of fiction, I suppose, put out where there was a $16 or $20 fast food meal, like it was $20 for a Big Mac or $18 for a Big Mac or whatever it was. And somebody ends up, somebody had gone in and ordered like a specialty sandwich and the whole thing ended up being $16. But it's gone out on social media. And the substance of The Washington Post article was saying, you know, the White House has been trying to figure out what to do with this because people are so frustrated that a McDonald's meal could cost that much, that a Big Mac could get up to that level. And they're saying it's obviously untrue, but what do we do about it? And more than what do we do about it, like, why this? Why is this catching the attention of Americans right now? Why is it tying into this frustration? And I think just what you're describing, Richard, it's this constellation of factors and pressures that are pushing in on us, where it starts to feel like all of these little things are just piling up to make one giant heap of stress, of frustration, of difficulty. And so, you know, I mean, it's not unnoticeable when you go to the grocery store. Things are more expensive. And in a, you know, just, you know, the sort of general flow of things, is it that much more expensive? Eh, maybe, maybe not. I mean, I remember when gas was like 99 cents per gallon, right? Now it's over $3. And so, you know, some of it, you sort of expect. Others of it, you don't. And I think that's what we're seeing right now. I think what we're seeing is we've, we're recently out of a pandemic, sort of this weird global phenomenon that nobody had ever experienced. Now we're in a moment of sort of deep inflation. We're still seeing and hearing about corruption in our government, right? You know, trust in our political leaders is sort of at a fairly big low, if not an all-time low, you know, more of a low than it has been in recent years. So there's very little trust in the government to be able to pull us out of this. And I think people are starting to just feel the, in some ways, the very right tension is that things are broken and there's no way that we can fix them. Now, you know, how should Christians respond to that, I think is a separate question. But definitely, you know, I will say even just for me, you know, I've got a son who's thinking about going to college. So we're looking at college prices. You know, I've got, you know, cars that break down. I've got groceries to buy. You know, I work an awful lot. My wife works an awful lot. We're a two-income family. Nothing's easy. And I think that that nothing being easy can be really, really frustrating. Yeah. And that gets us to another point. In fact, I think one of our last broadcasts that we did was maybe we do have it too easy sometimes. And that comparison, or we think that we are entitled to that easiness. And that's not the way the world works. And so, you know, you wrote a book called Christian Resistance, which I encourage anyone who hears this, please get a copy. There's a chapter that talks about anxiety and fear and our concerns. You know, I think that also speaks to our perceptions as well. It's easy to get taken out with that undertow, with the fear and anxiety undertow. And I wonder, are they based on our own perceptions, but also our own look at our own perfectionism? Or is it something else? Well, you know, I think it's rooted in a misperception about the way the world actually works. So if we're talking about anxiety, it's pretty easy to go to something like Matthew 6. And in Matthew 6.25, Jesus talks to his followers and he says, therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on it. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Right. And then he goes on to talk about the birds of the air, the flowers, the grass, and just sort of making the point, if God takes care of these things, how will he not take care of you? Now, we've all experienced, probably, times when things are lean. Right. And so I don't think what Jesus is saying is, you're going to prosper greatly, right, as disciples of Jesus. What I think he's saying is that what you'll have is going to be sufficient to do what I'm asking you to do. It's something around that. But what I find interesting about Matthew 6 is that prior to Matthew 6.25, Jesus is actually instructing his disciples on how to interact within society. There's a politics about it. And so what you see is, you see, you know, the hypocrites standing on the corner to give. And their giving is intended to enhance their social standing. This is a matter of, I know how to maneuver society. I know how to make...

Make a way for work. And part of the way I make life work is to make it look like I'm generous. And so my giving is intended to increase my social standing so that I can actually get more back than I'm giving. He talks about prayer in the very same way. Hypocrites pray because they want people to think they're more pious than they actually are. And so all of these things they're talking about, he goes through giving, praying, and fasting. But he talks about them in terms of enhancing one's social standing. What he wants is for his people, the people who are following him, to step away from that sort of logic and to recognize that compromising these spiritual disciplines, compromising the way that we live our lives so that we can be loved and feared by men, is the wrong choice. And that it will actually drive anxiety because as we're giving, praying, and fasting in the wrong way, we're also not giving, praying, and fasting in the right way. And so part of Christian resistance is just doing the right things for the right reason consistently so that by the time we get into these situations, we can look at them. And I'm not saying not to be frustrated, not to have any sort of fears about the world or anything like that, but it doesn't own us. It doesn't take over our lives. And we keep it in check, not because we have this tremendous willpower or something like that, but because we're consistently practicing these things that Jesus is telling us to do. And that is sort of the essence of Christian resistance. It's how we avoid these anxieties and fears. The world is a scary place, right? Until you remember that you have a Lord and Savior who was resurrected from the dead. And then you start to realize you don't have that much to worry about. What, me worry? Well, we're going to take a break right now. We're not worried about that either. When we come back, James and I will be discussing more about Christian resistance and what we can do. You're listening to Thinking Christian on Life Audio. And so part of Christian resistance is just doing the right things for the right reason consistently so that by the time we get into these situations, we can look at them. And I'm not saying not to be frustrated. Let me ask you a serious question. If something triggered a major market drop in the coming months, would your retirement be ready or exposed? With inflation, market volatility, and ongoing global uncertainty, more families are taking a closer look at whether their retirement plan is truly built to hold up. And many are finding that adding a layer of protection makes a lot of sense. Sanctuary Metals is a Christian-owned company that helps families strengthen their retirement savings with physical gold and silver through a gold IRA. During uncertain times, many people look to precious metals as a way to add stability when other assets may be under pressure. If you'd like to explore whether a gold IRA is a good fit for your situation, Sanctuary Metals makes it easy to get started. Text GUIDE to 94878 to receive your free retirement defense guide or call 888-958-6579 to speak with one of their knowledgeable team members. Again, text GUIDE to 94878 or call 888-958-6579. To have any sort of fears about the world or anything like that. But it doesn't own us. It doesn't take over our lives. And we keep it in check, not because we have this tremendous willpower or something like that, but because we're consistently practicing these things that Jesus is telling us to do. And that is sort of the essence of Christian resistance. It's how we avoid these anxieties and fears. The world is a scary place, right? Until you remember that you have a Lord and Savior who was resurrected from the dead. And then you start to realize you don't have that much to worry about. Right. Yeah, the big picture is pretty good. It's okay. And I think that can become trite sometimes. Like we've made it into something that's a little bit trite. But at the same time, it's the reality, right? I mean, one of my favorite verses, Hebrews 12.28, you know, let us be grateful that we have inherited a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Right. Well, right now, what's happening around the world is we're seeing other kingdoms be shaken. Right. We're seeing things just sort of knock around and just the normal consequences of living in a fallen world. I don't go into the whole, hey, we're living in the end times bit. You know, I think these are just the inevitable consequences of living in a fallen world. If it's the end times, all the better, you know, in some ways. But I don't really feel the need to prophesy about that or something like that. But at the end of the day, these are kingdoms that can be shaken. We don't live there. We're part of the church. We're that, you know, kingdom of priests and a holy nation, a chosen race that is to proclaim the excellencies of God. And part of the way we do that is by recognizing our kingdom is not shaking. Yeah. We have security that transcends, that goes beyond, you know, economic security, you know, political stability, all those kind of things there. They're important. I don't want to trivialize them. But at the same time, there's something much bigger that we should be looking at. Right. Well, I like that you asked the question in Christian resistance on how we allow the world's stories to capture our attention. Explain how we do that and how that clouds our vision of God. You talk about the peripheral, God in the peripheral. How do we keep God in the foreground? Yeah, so, you know, when we think about stories, we often think about true or false stories. And a lot of times I talk about it like that. So, you know, these are stories that are going to deny God or tell falsehoods about God. What I think a lot of what we see right now is, you know, Brock Purdy on the San Francisco 49ers, right? He's the last pick in the draft. He's Mr. Irrelevant, right? That's what we're getting in the news. We are getting irrelevant information that we're supposed to think is relevant. Right. And that isn't exactly true or false. I actually think true or false doesn't exactly factor. It's all about what's going to capture our attention. And it doesn't make a difference whether it's true or false. It only matters whether or not it can capture our attention. And I think what captures our attention right now is largely irrelevant. I don't usually suggest this, but if you want to see irrelevance, go out on Instagram or TikTok and flip through the videos that are on there. Largely irrelevant. Right. You know, I mean, you're talking about millions and millions of views on things that have no substance. Right. And they're just there to sort of attract our attention. Almost as if we're being distracted from looking at the real problems around us. And so I think part of the way that the world captures us in its stories is, number one, by distracting us from sitting at the feet of Jesus. I often use the story of Mary and Martha. Martha is doing something good. She's trying to provide hospitality. But that good thing distracts her from spending time with the Lord. And that becomes, you know, a problem because Martha now misses out on the good portion that Mary, who opts to sit at Jesus' feet, gets. So that's one. It's about distraction. Number two, I think it's a bait and switch. I think a lot of times what we're being fed are these irrelevant nuggets, right? Almost like red herring problems. Right. That we're supposed to really, really, really care about. But ultimately, they are distractions. They're pulling us away and redirecting our attention from things that really matter to things that are generally just irrelevant. Right. Well, the final question that you have here is, what am I willing to change about my life so that I can begin to recognize God's active presence in the world? Which, you know, everything that we've talked about, that's really where it comes down to. It's God's presence in the world. Yeah, and I think, you know, the way I usually think about this. So Jesus talks a lot about the senses, right? The people who can understand the parables are looking with eyes that see and listening with ears that hear.

Right? Psalm 94, we're supposed to taste and see that the Lord is good. Right? This is an experiential thing. It's a way of interacting and perceiving our world. What we see, what we hear, what we can touch, right? Like that is what we're supposed to be cultivating. And so that training our senses is a process of discipleship. And so what is discipleship? What does it entail? Well, it entails at least two things, baptism, right? And I take baptism to be just a commitment to following after Christ, being buried with him in his death, and learning to observe all that Christ commanded. In other words, learning to slough off our misdirected desires, right? And the actions that flow from them, and swapping those for the desires that Christ would have us take on and allowing our behaviors to flow from those. And so we've got this sort of interesting interplay because we live in a world that has no vested interest in seeing us become disciples of Christ. I mean, if anything, right, in the most utopian of worlds, right? Nobody cares if we're disciples of Jesus, right? And so they just let us do our thing, right? But they don't have a vested interest in cultivating that in us. That's a church thing. That's a Christian thing. We're the only ones who really care about making disciples for Jesus. So we may be able to sort of survive within a nation like the United States that has religious freedom. And as long as we don't cause too much of a ruckus, we're not going to be too much of a problem. But at the end of the day, the United States government has no interest in our discipleship, which means that whenever media organizations or the United States or whoever, right? Whatever other forces outside the church are putting information out for us to consume, when they are putting products out for us to buy, when they are trying to organize society in a particular way, they're not doing that with an eye to how will this form people into the body of Christ? Which means that we have to be really smart and really careful about what we look at, what we read, what we consume, how we consume it. I would say that even more so than what. I read a lot of different pieces, right? Just trying to keep up with some of this stuff. I read a lot of different things, a lot of authors that don't share my Christian convictions. But how I read it is different than that I read it. Right. And so, you know, we've got to interrogate this stuff and recognize, like, when is it telling the truth? When is it providing a perspective I need to hear? When is it taking me further afield from conforming to the image of Christ than I need to go? Right. And so we've got to be able to discern those things. So what I would what I would urge people to do is they're thinking about, you know, what is it that I'm willing to give up? Right. The the essence of that question is just this. There are like a million things in my life that hinder me from growing spiritually. Right. Some of them I'm aware of. Some of them I'm not. Right. But the reality is they're not inevitable in my life. I can always give them up. I always have a choice. You know, I love Deuteronomy 30, 20. When, you know, God says, I put before you today life and death, choose life. We can always choose life. Yeah. We just so many times don't. And so what I would just encourage people to think through is, look, just take a look at your life and ask yourself, what's hindering me from growing spiritually? And then how could I replace that hindrance with something that would help me grow spiritually? You know, I'll give you an example from a fitness perspective. Right. So I'm I'm I get home last night around, I don't know, I think it was around 7:30 or 8. Right. Just drop off kids, do all that kind of good stuff. And I sat down on the couch for a second and I'm like, man, I'd kind of like a snack. I'd kind of like this. I'd kind of like that. You know, I reach for the remote to turn the TV on and I'm like, nope, I haven't worked out yet. So I just go downstairs in my home gym and I get my workout in. In that moment, I have a choice. I can either do something that is going to hinder my physical health, or I can do something that is going to help my physical health. And it's the same thing with spiritual growth. Like, we do this all the time. We can engage in activities that are not helpful to our spiritual growth and we know they're not helpful. We know it. And so, you know, when I look at something and I say, this is making me feel angry, this is making me feel anxious. This is giving me, you know, a sense of the world that doesn't align with God's word. It's turning me against others. It's causing me to hate my enemies as opposed to love my enemies. Right. Then why are we, why am I engaging it? Right. Right. Why am I allowing something into my life that is leading me away from Christ as opposed to seeking things out that are going to lead me toward him? So that's the real nature of that question. And it comes down to just a simple, let's identify those hindrances and then let's take some strides, some do something to eliminate them from your life and substitute them for helps. It's that simple. Well, stay with us. We are about to reach a conclusion to this show on Thinking Christian. We'll be right back. Let me ask you a serious question. If something triggered a major market drop in the coming months, would your retirement be ready or exposed? With inflation, market volatility and ongoing global uncertainty, more families are taking a closer look at whether their retirement plan is truly built to hold up. And many are finding that adding a layer of protection makes a lot of sense. Sanctuary Metals is a Christian owned company that helps families strengthen their retirement savings with physical gold and silver through a gold IRA. During uncertain times, many people look to precious metals as a way to add stability when other assets may be under pressure. If you'd like to explore whether a gold IRA is a good fit for your situation, Sanctuary Metals makes it easy to get started. Text GUIDE to 94878 to receive your free retirement defense guide or call 888-958-6579 to speak with one of their knowledgeable team members. Again, text GUIDE to 94878 or call 888-958-6579. In the seasonal discipline, we're about to look at Advent, and I heard a story, and it was on NPR of all places, but I think it was either a Lutheran church or a mainline church that is in college towns. They went through the Advent rituals in the four weeks before Christmas break. And so what they wanted to do is show how these rituals and this discipline of refocusing on hope and on peace and on love and on joy. And also, they said the payoff is that it wasn't just the joy of the infant Jesus. This was the joy of a God who's reigning in a world that doesn't make sense. And so I couldn't believe what I was hearing on a notoriously pretty secular. They had reported it as this was all truth. And I thought, wow. But then I, you know, at the same time, and, you know, our, our next show, I think we're going to be talking a little bit about this, is how our right to freedom of speech and how people are feeling threatened and that they can't talk. We can talk a little bit about this next time, but I thought, man, let's, let's end this on a positive note and talk about this, this study that was reaching out to college campuses, the church reaching out to college campuses. And it was accepted because a lot of those people were a lot of these students were, were their anxiety because they have finals or they have all of these things. And so what really mattered was what they wanted to focus on. And I just thought it was, it was really good. So it's almost like, what do you give up? What are you willing to give up to get, to focus in on God and God's God's reign. You know, God's in control. And that should eliminate a lot of our anxiety and fears. It should. And I mean, I think that the cadence of that church calendar, which many churches just don't follow is actually really crucial because it does keep you in a cadence, right?

in that sense, intent. It's intent is sort of to grind your busy life to a halt and put you in a new space in a new time with a new cadence of life that is focused in on these various big events in the church, the birth of Christ, the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ. You know, we have all these different sort of holidays across time in this church calendar, and I think the really crucial and important way to great way for people to take a step out of ordinary life and put them back into sacred time. Yes. Yeah. Well, that's great. Tell us what's going on in the ministry and what you guys are working on right now and how people can get involved. Yeah, we've, so we're putting new courses up. I anticipate by the end of the month, we're going to have additional courses up on usefulthegod.com. We are still working on getting the 30 days in the gospel up as a new year's resolution sort of challenge for folks. We'll be doing that on the radio broadcast, Useful the God radio broadcast, as well as Useful the God, which will be hosted on One Place and wherever podcasts can be found. But that's going to be a really fun study and that Bible teaching program is going to continue on next year. So we've got a calendar built out for that, so I just encourage people to check that out. It'll be a great time to just spend some I don't know, concentrated, organized time in the scriptures. And then, you know, the last thing that we're really looking at is the development of my new book. So Serpents and Doves. It's a book that will be out early next year, probably February. And we are in that book, I'm dealing with Christians and politics and what politics should look like from a biblical and theological perspective. And so it's not a book about necessarily about the 2024 election. What I'm hoping is that people look at it and they just get a good biblical and theological framework for what it means to be Christian first and American second. And so it very much focuses on our mission as God's people, you know, our responsibility to be disciples for Christ and hones in on some of the words and phrases that maybe we've misconstrued and that are confusing us and confusing our message and confusing our story and thus confusing our lives, raising anxieties, all those kind of things that some of which we talked about here today. So yeah, those two things are coming up. We're gonna have a big year next year and excited about all that God's doing. I wanna take just a second to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the Thinking Christian podcast. If you go to lifeaudio.com, you will find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network. They've got shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more. Life Audio. Looking for inspiration and uplifting stories of faith? Welcome to the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith podcast, now available on Life Audio. Join us each week for heartfelt conversations and personal stories from people from all walks of life that will inspire you and lift your spirit. Whether you're seeking comfort, motivation, or just a moment of peace, the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith podcast offers a beautiful reminder of faith and hope. Listen to the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith podcast on lifeaudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.