I’m a recovering overthinker. One of the biggest problems I have is overthinking. I tend to ruminate and get trapped in analysis paralysis. I am getting much better; maybe I am getting older and practicing Jesus’ teachings longer. But recently, I found out I am not alone. 99% of people overthink everything.
Some people overthink because they are perfectionists; some because they are people-pleasers—they want to impress people. Still, some people overthink because they want to please God—in fact, they misunderstand what really pleases God.
Let me tell you a parable to start with.
There once was a farmer who discovered his horse disappeared one day. The neighbors helped him search for it, but they couldn’t find it anywhere. It must have run away into the forest far away. So, they expressed their sympathy, “Old man, we are so sorry for your loss. What did you do to deserve that misfortune? Without a horse, how can you make a living? You are cursed.”
In those days, owning a horse was essential to making a living as a farmer. A horse helps till the soil, plow the field, and carry the produce to the market. So, losing the horse was a big blow to the family’s livelihood. However, the old man responded to the neighbors, “Don’t worry! It may not be as bad as you think.” To which the neighbors thought the old man was crazy not to worry about it.
A few days later, the old man woke up and saw a bunch of horses standing in front of his barn. This horse had returned, bringing ten more wild horses with her. The neighbors came praising the old man, “Old man, you are so lucky, and now you are wealthy with eleven horses. You will be the richest man in the village.” The old man replied, “Well, it may not be as good as you think.”
The next day, the old man’s son tried to tame the wild horses. He fell from one of the horses and broke his leg. The neighbors came and said, “Old man, you are cursed. Since your only son is crippled, who will work the farm and feed the family when you are old? Now, you have to take care of him instead.”
In those days, parents depended on their sons to secure their later life. But the old man said as usual. “Don’t worry! It may not be as bad as you think.” The neighbors again thought the old man was crazy. How could anyone be so optimistic about not having anyone to depend on in their old age?
A few weeks later, a war broke out with a neighboring country. The government came to draft young men to go to war. The old man’s son was spared because he was disabled. The neighbors came crying, “Old man, you are so lucky. Even though your son is crippled, he is at least with you. Now, we don’t know if our sons will return from the war.” The old man replied, “It may not be as bad as you think.” The neighbors ignored him. (End of story.)
This 2,500-year-old simple parable depicts human nature. It describes the wisdom of the old man among the overthinking villagers. It’s still relevant in our time. Today, we will look at how Jesus teaches us to stop overthinking. Do you overthink? If so, today’s scripture lesson will help you. If you don’t overthink, that’s good, but you can still use this lesson to help others to overcome the issue because many people around you suffer from overthinking. It’s one of the worst substance abuse of our time. Overthinking is the cheapest drug that is very addictive. The more you overthink, the more you want to overthink. So, let’s begin!
[Hi, in case we haven’t met yet, I am Sam Stone, the Lightkeeper—you are the light of the world, and I am the keeper! (No pun intended). It’s my calling to help you shine your brightest so that God is glorified in you and you are satisfied in God.]
The Scripture lesson for today is from the Gospel According to Matthew 11:16-19; 25-30. [Listen to the Word of the Lord!]
16 “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
25 At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:16-19; 25–30).
[Blessed are those who delight in God’s word. Thanks be to God!]
The first part of the passage depicts the state of humanity. It says,
“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’” (Mt 11:16-17).
In Hebrew, the word “generation” also means “society,” “culture,” or “humanity.” So, when Jesus says “this generation,” he is talking about contemporary culture or the state of the world in general. Two thousand years later, our society is still suffering from overthinking.
I like to watch TV or movies sitting next to Sophie because she makes me enjoy the show better. She doesn’t overthink. If there is nothing to laugh about, she laughs loudly. Even the smallest humor can trigger her laughter. Then I laugh, not because of the show, but seeing her naivete.
Without her around, I don’t catch the punchlines or catch fewer punchlines. I often wondered, “What’s so funny about it?” If you take me to the comedy night out, you will feel I don’t get the money’s worth. Don’t get me wrong; I like to crack jokes. But when the table is turned, I find my laughter threshold very high because I overthink.
I am one of those people Jesus describes here, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.” They don’t see the punchline because they overthink.
It might sound trivial to miss a punchline of a comedy, but it can be detrimental if we miss God’s punchline. We could miss essential life lessons and divine messages if we keep overthinking. Jesus explained,
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” (Mt 11:18-19).
Jesus says that we overthink and overanalyze people and miss the punchlines. We miss the message because we overjudge the messenger. We judge the book by its cover. There are three key sources of overthinking.
Perfectionism
The overthinking could come from perfectionism. We think a sage should be perfect to be worthy of our learning. A man in ancient China heard about Laozi, the famous sage, and visited Laozi’s home to take some lessons from him. He entered Laozi’s home and saw a messy home, and he left immediately, losing respect for the sage, and decided not to learn from the slobby sage. Many days later, he returned to Laozi and apologized to him. He realized he should differentiate the messenger from the message and learned from him. Perfectionism can make us overthink and miss the punchline.
Cynicism
Another source of overthinking comes from cynicism. We live in a fallen world and deal with fallen people. After getting hurt by too many sinners, we become cynical about people. Instead of hearing their message, we try to determine their motive. “What’s he or she trying to get from me?” Cynicism can make us overthink and miss the punchline.
Ambition
Another source of overthinking comes from trying to please God with ambition, thinking if we think deeper and do better, we will make God happier. We fail to realize what God requires of us is very simple. God doesn’t want us to overdo it.
God gave us a beautiful Graden to enjoy, eating everything except the forbidden fruit of overthinking. It is like a rabbit hole; the more we overthink, the more we become curious about it. The devil feeds our ambition with temptations. “If you eat this fruit, you might not die.” He wants you to overthink God’s motive, “Maybe, the Holy One doesn’t want you to become smarter than Him.” Then we swallowed the forbidden fruit and missed the punchline.
There’s a difference between ambition and aspiration. Ambition is about desires to gain power, procession, and prestige, but aspiration is about fulfilling a divine dream. “Aspiration” comes from the root word for “spirit.” So, ambition is ego-driven, and aspiration is a spiritual calling that comes from God.
Then Jesus gives us the solution.
At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. (Mat 11:25-26).
If you want to know God’s will, be an infant. Have you noticed that an infant does nothing except eat and poop, yet everything is provided? The older we grow, the more we overthink and the less we are provided. Nature doesn’t cater to overthinkers. When it comes to God’s will, do not overthink. We confuse discernment with overthinking. Discernment is not overthinking. Then Jesus reveals the solution with three simple invitations.
1. Come to Him to Rest and Relax
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Mt 11:28).
Overthinking is like carrying heavy mental and emotional burdens. It’s wearisome. Jesus wants to give you rest from overthinking. People think God wants to make them work harder with instruction and the Ten Commandments, but they forget that resting is part of the Ten Commandments. If you don’t rest, you are breaking one of the Big Ten.
That means if you don’t rest, you are committing the same sin as thieves, liars, murderers, and adulterers. It sounds like an exaggeration, but they are all listed in the Ten Commandments. Resting is the fourth commandment, even higher than lying, theft, murder, and adultery. Just imagine!
To receive rest, you must come to him. You come to him by stopping thinking, breathing the Holy Breath, a form of meditation that I’ve taught you. You come to him in prayer. You come to him in reading the Bible. And you come to him in worship, singing, and listening. Come to him to rest and relax.
2. Take His Yoke to Make Life Easier
“Take my yoke upon you … For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:29a, 30).
A yoke is a wooden beam fastened between two oxen or animals to share the weight of the workload. That means Jesus wants to carry the burdens by walking side-by-side with you so that you don’t have to carry the burdens alone. You don’t have to overthink because he will share half the burden.
Furthermore, his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. That means he will take off your heavy burdens and give you his light burden. You no longer need to be a perfectionist because he knows you are not perfect. His perfection covers your imperfection.
He will also exchange your ambition with aspiration. Ambition is ego-driven, so the burden is on you, but aspiration is God-inspired, so the burden is on God. As mentioned before, Jesus has greatness thrust upon you with the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill it. You don’t have the burden of risk because you are just a messenger. Take his yoke and make life easier.
3. Learn from Him to Catch the Punchlines
“and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Mt 11:29b).
He wants you to learn from him to become gentle and humble in your heart. The words “humility,” “humor,” and “human” come from the same Latin root word, “humus,” meaning “earth” or “ground.” We are made of earth. Humility gives you a good sense of humor, makes you human, and keeps you grounded. Humble people are funny.
Humility allows you to enjoy life by catching God’s punchlines. It melts away perfectionism, cynicism, and vain ambitions that make you overthink. As I have told you before, Jesus is a funny teacher. Most people read the Bible too seriously, but if you understand the Hebrew humor, you will catch many punchlines in Jesus’ teachings and parables.
There we have it. Overthinking can burn you out and wear you away. Let’s stop overthinking by accepting his invitation to
1. Come to Him to Rest and Relax
2. Take his Yoke to Make Life Easier
3. Learn from Him to Catch the Punchlines
These three verses are worth memorizing if you want to live a restful, peaceful, and meaningful life. I guess many of you have already memorized it. Many of you have learned it since you were in Sunday School. If not, or if you have forgotten it, this is your homework. Let’s recite it together for the closing.
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:28–30).
Let’s memorize it and put it into practice!
That’s it for today. I hope you find this message illuminating as much as I enjoy receiving it from the Head Office. Until we meet again, keep your light shining brighter and broader, and harvest the fruit of profound freedom, purpose, and happiness.
Amen!
Bye now!
