What causes you to lose sleep at night? Many of us have reached an age when we expected to live a peaceful, quiet life doing what we have worked hard to afford. If, earlier in life, we had a habit of worrying, we may find that retirement has merely replaced past anxieties with present anxieties. Maybe we never learned the lessons of Philippians 4:4-20. We have heard many sermons on this passage and studied it in depth ourselves. Yet we still find ourselves distressed about “matters of this life” (NASB, GK biotikos; cf. Lk 21:34; 1 Cor 6:3-4).

It is interesting that Jesus, in Luke 21:34, associates “matters of this life” (biotikos) with díssipation and drunkenness, behavior that wastes life’s precious resources. The Greek term for “anxious” in the NASB (Phil 4:6) comes from the verb merimnao, referring to taking thought for something. In Philippians 4, the context begins with reference to a quarrel among two Christian women who had helped Paul in the past. He described this as sharing in his struggle in the cause of the gospel (sun, together, and athleo, to labor, from which we get our English term, athletics).

One might think that being around and working with Christians would be less stressful and more enjoyable. However, Paul’s exhortation in this letter to the Philippian church would suggest that this is not always the case. Paul had a special bond with the fellowship of these believers. When he was driven out of the city on his second missionary journey, they sent gifts to help him at Thessalonica. Then during his Roman imprisonment ten years later they sent material assistance again.

During his travels, Paul expressed his “daily concern (noun, mermna) for the churches” (2 Cor 11:28). Earlier in this epistle, Paul refers to his plan to send Timothy to Philippi because “I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned (verb, merimnao) for your welfare” (Phil 2:20).

To those who might want to use the Philippians 4 text to mean all “worry is sin,” think again. This does not correspond to Paul’s use of the term concern. There are occasions and matters about which we should focus our attention and decide what is important and what isn’t. This comes through the power of the Holy Spirit, knowledge and application of the Word of God, and circumstances. The difference lies in understanding the distinction between eustress and distress.

Microsoft Copilot provides the difference as:

Eustress is positive, motivating stress that enhances performance.
Distress is negative, overwhelming stress that impairs functioning.

We need to consider the entire context of Paul’s letter to Philippians. At times it might be a sin not to be anxious.

Here are some abiding principles:

  1. Eustress enhances performance.
  2. Eustress is concern for others.
  3. Eustress should be presented to God in prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving.
  4. Eustress means choosing to think what is true, honest, just, pure, and lovely.