BBC
Radio Leicester Thought for the Day
©
John Denney 18 October 2004
Are
you stressed? Here are some pointers so
you can tell:
1. You say the same sentence over and over again, not
realizing that you've said it before.
2. Your heart beats in an interesting salsa rhythm.
3. Indigestion tablets become your sole source of
nutrition.
4. You say the same sentence over and over again, not
realizing that you've said it before.
5. On the way into work, you call your voice mail to
leave reminders to yourself.
6. You begin to talk to yourself, then disagree with
yourself, get into a nasty row over it, lose, and refuse to speak to yourself
for the rest of the night.
7. You say the same sentence over and over again, not
realizing that you've said it before.
There
was some research published at the weekend categorising the stress levels of
different jobs. Hairdressers have the
least stressful jobs, followed closely by builders and headhunters. I think that’s the recruitment consultants, not
the little guys with the blowpipes and bonce-shrinking kits. At the top of the table, teaching is the
fourth most stressful job, lawyers come in at number three, and – I really have
difficulty believing this – Estate Agents[1]
come in second! And the most stressful job is taxi
driving. Fare enough.
I
bet half of you listening to me are thinking, “If they think their life is stressful, they should try
mine”. And it’s true that we all have
stress from time to time. In fact, a
little stress is good for you. It’s what
makes us get things done, for one thing.
And a low level of stress keeps you young, apparently[2]
– something to do with molecular chaperones
(whatever they are). Too much stress,
though, and you suffer mental fatigue, heart problems, and all sorts of other
bad things.
That’s
why God provided a day off for us. Even He
took a day off after He’d created the world and all that’s in it[3]. We need to strike a balance between work and
rest, because God made us that way. On
another Monday morning, here’s what God is saying to you: Don't fuss about what's on the table at
mealtimes or whether the clothes in your wardrobe are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food
you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you
hang on your body. Look at the birds,
free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care
of God. And you count far more to him
than birds.[4]