"Who of you by worrying, can add a single cubit to his height?" Matthew 6:27
So it is useless to worry! A short person cannot, by any amount of anxiety, make himself an inch taller. Why, therefore, should he waste his energy and fret his life away — in wishing he were taller?
One worries because he is too short — another because he is too tall;
one because he too lean — another because he is too fat;
one because he has a lame foot — another because he has a mole on his face.
No amount of fretting will change any of these things!
People worry, too, over their circumstances. They are poor, and have to work hard. They have troubles, losses, and disappointments which come through causes entirely beyond their own control. They find difficulties in their environment which they cannot surmount. There are hard conditions in their lot which they cannot change.
Now why should they worry about these things? Will worrying make matters any better? Will discontent . . .
cure the blind eye, or
remove the ugly mole, or
give health to the infirm body?
Will chafing make . . .
the hard work, lighter;
or the burdens, easier;
or the troubles, fewer?
Will anxiety . . .
keep the winter away, or
keep the storm from rising, or
put coal in the cellar, or
put bread in the pantry, or
get clothes for the children?
Even human reason shows the uselessness of worrying, since it helps nothing, and only wastes one's strength and unfits one for doing one's best!
The Christian gospel goes farther, and says that even the hard things and the obstacles, are blessings — if we meet them in the right spirit. They are stepping-stones lifting our feet upward — disciplinary experiences in which we grow.
So we learn that we should quietly, and with faith, accept life as it comes to us — fretting at nothing, and changing hard conditions to easier if we can. And if we cannot — then we must use them as means for growth and advancement.
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J.R. Miller (1840 - 1912)
Prolific author and pastor of Presbyterian churches in Pennsylvania and Illinois, Rev. James Russell Miller served the USCC as a field agent in the Army of the Potomac and Army of the Cumberland.J.R. Miller began contributing articles to religious papers while at Allegheny Seminary. This continued while he was at the First United, Bethany, and New Broadway churches. In 1875, Miller took over from Henry C. McCook, D.D. when the latter discontinued his weekly articles in The Presbyterian, which was published in Philadelphia. J.R. Miller D.D.'s lasting fame is through his over 50 books. Many are still in publication.
James Russell Miller (March 20, 1840 - July 2, 1912) was a popular Christian author, Editorial Superintendent of the Presbyterian Board of Publication, and pastor of several churches in Pennsylvania and Illinois.
In 1857, James entered Beaver Academy and in 1862 he progressed to Westminster College, Pennsylvania, which he graduated in June, 1862. Then in the autumn of that year he entered the theological seminary of the United Presbyterian Church at Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Mr. Miller resumed his interrupted studies at the Allegheny Theological Seminary in the fall of 1865 and completed them in the spring of 1867. That summer he accepted a call from the First United Presbyterian Church of New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. He was ordained and installed on September 11, 1867.
J.R. Miller began contributing articles to religious papers while at Allegheny Seminary. This continued while he was at the First United, Bethany, and New Broadway churches. In 1875, Miller took over from Henry C. McCook, D.D. when the latter discontinued his weekly articles in The Presbyterian, which was published in Philadelphia.
Five years later, in 1880, Dr. Miller became assistant to the Editorial Secretary at the The Presbyterian Board of Publication, also in Philadelphia.