你是否曾希望自己停止思考？
By Ken Korkow
我的妻子麗茲說我不知道怎麼把我的腦袋關機。我回答她，因為我根本不想關機，只要我的頭腦還有一點清醒，我就必須不斷地運轉。
但事實上，她是對的。我計畫、擔憂、經歷壓力、為各種情況苦惱──不論是真實的或想像出來的情況──實在太超過了。這可能是出於對上帝缺乏信心，也害怕若我不努力去操縱並控制，事情會比現況更糟。
這些年來我已經學到解決這問題的實際辦法，並且試著盡量經常應用它。讓我用一個比喻來說明：我每天吃早餐。我的哥哥吉姆說那是每天最重要的一餐，因為若到早餐的時間你還沒回到家，你可能就有大麻煩了！除此之外，人們說豐盛的早餐是重要的，因為那可以提供我們一天所需的能量與體力。
然而，依我之見，有些事比吃早餐和得到身體所需營養更重要。
每天在我吃進身體所需的營養之前，我先吸收屬靈的養份。為什麼我這麼做？因為我了解以後且相信，我並非是有一個有靈魂的身體，而是一個有身體的屬靈實體。（想一下這一點。）
對我而言，這通常意味著不論我的行程有多繁忙，一天的開始我一定先讀一段聖經，以及一篇喜愛的靈修書籍，使我的思想朝向正確的方向。一位偉大的屬靈領袖曾說，他總是在一天的開始先禱告一小時；若他非常忙，他就禱告兩小時！
有一天早晨，在讀了聖經後，我使用章伯斯的每日靈修書「竭誠為主」，我看到以下這一段文章。他引述一節經文後，然後提出一些評論：
「『不要為生命憂慮吃甚麼，喝甚麼；為身體憂慮穿甚麼』（馬太福音6章25節）」
「耶穌把信徒合乎理智的憂慮當作不信。我們若受了聖靈，祂一定會追問我們說：『在朋友當中、在安排妥當的假期中、在這些新書中，神的位置在哪裡？』祂要追問我們，直到我們以神為首。什麼時候我們把別的東西擺在首位，就會產生混亂。」
「『不要憂慮。』不要把尚未來臨的事壓在自己肩上。憂慮不但是錯，而且是不信；因為憂慮就是不相信神能解決我們生活上實際的細節問題，而我們的憂慮往往是這些問題。你有沒有留意主耶穌說什麼會擠住神的道？魔鬼嗎？不是！乃是今生的思慮（馬太福音13章22節），這些總是瑣瑣碎碎的憂慮。我看不見，就信不過，這就是不信的起頭。唯一能救治不信的，乃是順服聖靈。」
當我們面臨今天職場的挑戰，我想這是很棒、很實際、可應用的智慧。
肯恩．寇克住在美國內布拉斯加州的Omaha市，在那裡他擔任CBMC的區域總幹事。本篇文章改編自他每週寫的「生活傳真」專欄。我們獲得允許轉載。
省思 / 討論題目
你是否想得太多－或者傾向思慮過度，不論是工作上的或個人生活中的事？若是如此，這如何影響你和你周圍的人？ 計畫是好的，但當你將憂慮、恐懼和懷疑都混到計畫裡，會發生什麼事？請解釋。 本文作者建議，對思考過多，甚至為各種狀況感到苦惱的有效治療辦法是，定意排出時間默想、讀聖經及禱告。你對這建議有何看法？ 你怎麼看本文所引述耶穌的話以及章伯斯的註釋？你認為那些原則適用於這21世紀的職場嗎？為什麼？註：若你有聖經且想要看有關此主題的其他經文，請看：
箴言16章3、9節，19章21節，20章24節；以賽亞書26章3節，41章10節；馬太福音6章26-34節；腓立比書4章6-7節
DO YOU EVER WISH YOU COULD STOP THINKING?
By Ken Korkow
My wife Liz says I do not know how to turn my mind off. I respond that because I do not have much of a mind to start with, I need to keep working with what little I have!
But the reality, she is right. I plan, worry, experience stress and agonize over situations – real and imagined – far too much. This is probably out of lack of trust in God and also fear that if I do not attempt to manipulate and control, things will become even worse than they already are.
Over the years I have learned there is a practical remedy for this problem, and try to apply it as often as possible. Let me start with an analogy: I eat breakfast every day. My brother Jim says is the most important meal of the day, because if you are not home in time for breakfast you are probably going to be in a lot of trouble! But in addition to that, we are told a substantial breakfast is important for having the necessary energy and stamina for the day ahead.
However, there is something more important than breakfast and the general practice of getting physical nourishment, in my opinion.
Every day before I take my physical nourishment of the day I take spiritual nourishment. Why do I do this? Because, as I understand it and have come to believe, I am not a physical body with a spirit but a spiritual entity with a physical body. (Think about that for awhile.)
For me this usually means that, no matter how demanding my schedule is for the day, I make a point of taking time to start it by reading a passage from the Bible and also from a favorite devotional to get my thinking headed in the right direction. A great spiritual leader once commented that he always began the day with an hour of prayer; if he were especially busy, he would start with two hours of prayer!
One morning, along with my Bible reading, using Oswald Chambers” daily devotionalMy Utmost For His Highest,Isaw the following.He cited a scripture passage and then offered some comments:
" “…do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on” (Matthew 6:25).
“Jesus summed up commonsense carefulness in the life of a disciple as unbelief. If we have received the Spirit of God, He will squeeze right through our lives, as if to ask, “Now where do I come into this relationship, this vacation you have planned, or these new books you want to read?” And He always presses the point until we learn to make Him our first consideration. Whenever we put other things first, there is confusion.
" “…do not worry about your life_.”Do not take the pressure of your provision upon yourself. It is not only wrong to worry, it is unbelief; worrying means we do not believe God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never anything but those details that worry us. Have you ever noticed what Jesus said would choke the Word He puts in us? Is it the devil? No – “the cares of this world”(Matthew 13:22). It is always our little worries. We say, “I will not trust when I cannot see” – and that is where unbelief begins. The only cure for unbelief is obedience to the Spirit.”
I think this is good, practical wisdom to put into use as we confront our workplace challenges today.
Ken Korkow lives in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A., where he serves as an area director for CBMC. This is adapted from the “Fax of Life” column that he writes each week. Used with permission.
Do you think too much – or tend to over-think, whether it is about workplace issues or personal concerns? If so, how does this affect you and others around you? Planning is good, but what happens when you mix planning with worry, fear and doubt? Explain your answer. Mr. Korkow suggests that an effective remedy to thinking too much, even agonizing over various situations, is intentionally setting aside time for meditation, for studying the Bible and for pray? How do you respond to that suggestion? What are your reactions to the quotations from Jesus and the commentary that follows? Do you think these principles are appropriate for the 21st century workplace? Why or why not?NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to review some other passages that relate to this topic, consider the following verses: Proverbs 16:3,9, 19:21, 20:24; Isaiah 26:3, 41:10; Matthew 6:26-34; Philippians 4:6-7
