Midweek: Children, Chainsaws, and Anxiety

For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
~ Genesis 3:5

"So, I handed my three-year old a chainsaw and let her go to town," said no one ever. Yet, at some point, those of us three-year olds who were able to reach the top shelf, took down the chainsaw for ourselves and began doing as we wished.

The longer I live, the more I realize how little I know and how irresponsibly I can act. Especially when the only thing on my mind is insisting on my own way. I am fearfully and wonderfully made by the God of the universe; I can do all sorts of marvelous things. But turned loose, left to my own devices, ignoring the boundaries of the One who is infinite and with me always, I am a disaster waiting to happen; I am a preschooler wielding a chainsaw.

When God created Adam and Eve, He created them out of love, guarding and guiding them in love. He wasn't trying to stifle their growth. He definitely was not (and is not) afraid of competition; He has no competition. (Back to the three-year old; a world class runner would not consider that child "competition." Ridiculous, right?) So, the idea that God would establish rules in order to keep us from proving too great a competitor is ludicrous. But mankind fell for the lie in the garden and has continued to fall for it ever since. Our society refuses to obey --refuses to even acknowledge God as being worthy of obedience --because we are under the arrogant delusion He is intimidated by us. The heartbreaking truth is this: we are ignorant to the damage we do to ourselves. Whether it's as serious as jumping on a ship and heading the other direction when we hear the voice of God or simply neglecting to commit our day to Him before we head on out to work, we practice so religiously our "own" abilities and freedoms, they become our exclusive modus operandi. Why would we need all those laws? Because as a whole, in comparison to the One who created us, we are ignorant children! 

Sure, we have intelligence. We have talent. We have initiative. We have kindness and compassion. All of these, gracious gifts our Creator has given to us in varying amounts. But we can never know the blessings or burdens that we will encounter by the end of the day. We can never know what God is doing on the other side of the world, or in a small town on another coast, or even right next door, that will require the knowledge we have or provide us with the talents we don't. God sees the entire picture. So, when He says, "Stay away, this isn't good for you," it's not because He's threatened by juveniles with power tools; it's because He loves us --all of us, and His laws, when obeyed, are able to keep us all functioning as a healthy, happy society. He sees the whole picture, from beginning to end, from coast to coast, from pole to pole, from our solar system to the next and the next after that!

But here is the current state of mankind's affairs. In May 2024, psychiatry.org reported an increase in anxiety among American adults. In November of the same year, The National Center for Biotechnology Information made the following claim:  

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental health conditions globally, particularly affecting adolescents and young adults (10-24 years), and causing substantial psychological and social impairments.

Attend one family function, watch one sitcom, sit through one church service, and you're likely to encounter talk of anxiety. It's ubiquitous, but so sad. So, over the next couple of Wednesdays, I'd like to show you what the Bible says about anxiety and how that corresponds to "good old American do-it-yourself-ism" and our arrogant propensity to pick up the chainsaw to do as we please.