Worry or believe

A couple weeks back, I went to see Joel Osteen. Have you heard of him? He's what local Pastors hope to be - his congregation is about 40,000 (that's just in-person), and his church is an arena. He goes on tour. And I'm sure he's a multi-millionaire.

Some people have a problem with seeing God through the eyes of someone who uses it as a way to lead a life of excess. They say that, if he really believed the word of God, he'd live a more modest lifestyle and use more of his ministry's money to help those less fortunate.

I can see that point - and it's one we could debate all day. I personally don't have a problem with him being wealthy - of course, it also makes me even less likely to tithe any of my money. You know, me not being a multi-millionaire, and all.

But that doesn't mean he doesn't have something good to say. His message is very positive, and very powerful, and truly makes a lot of sense. Even if you don't have a "formal" relationship with God, Osteen has a lot to say about living a positive life, and putting out positive energy.

"It takes the same amount of energy to believe as it does to worry."

I used to be a worrier. Everything bothered me, and everything was a huge deal - or a tragedy. That is such a tiring way to live. It took me a while, but I did eventually learn that you can be happy just by putting all that energy into being happy.

If you're going to spend the energy anyway, doesn't that make more sense?

Whether you see it has having faith in God, or yourself - or even the Easter Bunny - when you find yourself worrying, or upset over something you can't change, try to focus on finding the positive. Or at least setting aside the negative and figuring out a way it can be worse (because it almost always can).

I have found that even though I can't always change my circumstances, changing how I view them has almost the same effect. I may still have the same problem, but I'm happier and better able to manage my way through.

And isn't that what I was worried about, anyway?