A Better Pastoral Understanding of Anxiety Part 1

The first two sections of my research paper on Paul's use of "merimnaō" in Philippians

Going forward, these Wednesday research posts will be for paying subscribers. But I wanted to give everyone a sample of what these posts might look like first. I’ll be sharing research papers, extra notes from my studies, and ideas from processing what I read as I begin my dissertation research.

Below are the intro and first section of my research paper for my Pauline Theology seminar with Dr. Douglas Moo this semester (the first 1,500 words of a 7,000 word paper!). I’ll share the rest in installments over the next few weeks.

Don’t worry,* you don’t need to be able to read Greek to understand this paper!

* (joke intended)

  What does Paul mean in Philippians 4:6 by, “Be anxious for nothing”? Parts of the American church have a pastoral problem stemming from translating μεριμνάω (merimnaō) as “to be anxious” and preaching that anxiousness as a sin. As a result, many Christians believe anxiety is a sin, and this condemnation often makes anxiety worse. They are worried that their worry puts them on the wrong side of personal holiness. In current American English usage, “Anxious” can be an emotion concept that involves being “worried and uneasy about an uncertain outcome.”[1] Anxiety has also taken on a medical meaning, referring to Generalized Anxiety Disorder or other mental health issues that have anxiety as a symptom, like OCD and PTSD. Are these sorts of physiological problems really what Paul was writing about to the Philippians? When we translate Paul as saying, “do not be anxious for anything,” his words can be weaponized against worriers instead of being a source of comfort as I think he intended them to be.

            A better understanding of emotion theory, anxiety disorders, and translation of emotion words can help pastors preach more helpful sermons on this passage. This paper will consider the damage from poor teaching on anxiety in the church, explore Paul uses of μεριμνάω (merimnaō) in Philippians to offer a fuller understanding of his emotion concept, compare it with modern understandings of anxiety, consider the assistance emotion theory can give translation work, and suggest better translation options of this word to bring help and not harm.          

The Harmful Consequences of Preaching Anxiety as Sin

            When μεριμνάω is assumed to be equivalent to the modern American English concept of “anxious,” Christian writers and teachers are apt to name as “sin” the anxiety that comes from emotional disturbance, dysregulation, or mental illness. Here I offer a few representative quotes from Christian thought leaders as well as quotes from lesser-known teachers, showing the influence of these national and international teachings on local pastors. I will conclude this section with a recent research study showing the damage these kinds of teachings cause.

            Tim LaHaye wrote about anxiety in Spirit-Controlled Temperament. That book has been translated into multiple languages and been reprinted over 2 million times. LaHaye writes, alluding to Philippians 4, “Anytime the Christian does not rejoice or give thanks in everything, he is out of the will of God.”[2] He says, “Anxiety is a form of fear,” equating anxiety with the “sin” of fear he had written about earlier.[3] He describes a woman who sounds like she has an untreated anxiety disorder and dismisses her as “the professional worrier” who was making herself sick.[4] These teachings still influence the church today, keeping Christians from seeking needed medical care.

            In his podcast, John Piper said, “Paul and Jesus explicitly command us not to be anxious, so to be anxious is a sin.”[5] He repeats, “So, yes, worry or anxiety is a sin.” He acknowledges, “There is no human being on the planet beside Jesus who doesn’t struggle with anxiety…If we were perfect in our faith we would be anxiety-free. And the more we mature in faith, the more anxiety-free we are.” This statement might at first appear to be reassuring, but for people with anxiety disorders, it is further condemning—some people mature spiritually throughout their lives, faithfully following Jesus, yet never lessen in their anxiety. This teaching increases their fear that they might be bad Christians. Piper does suggest that in “extreme cases” medication might be a “special physical effort” someone could make so that “they can avail themselves more effectively of God-given natural strategies” which include “get enough sleep.” For people whose anxiety symptoms includes insomnia, this is additionally painful. Anxiety medications are widely prescribed, not as a last resort for extreme cases, but often as a first attempt to help.[6] Teachings like this can induce Christians to stop taking their necessary medications.

            Justin Bullington, host of the TheoBros Podcast, tweeted: “Anxiety is sin. Fundamentally, we become anxious because we’ve chosen to doubt God’s good and perfect will for our lives. (Matt. 6:25-34; 1 Pet. 5:7)”[7] Someone responded that if he knew anyone who struggled with anxiety, he would not say such things. He replied, “My wife does, daily, and the worst thing I could possibly do is tell her Jesus’ commands are completely out of reach and the Gospel is insufficient to overcome what God clearly calls sin. To tell a person this is merely psychological is 1) a lie, and 2) leaves her hopeless.”[8]

            William Klock preached that although we might try to encourage someone going through hard circumstances by telling them “Don’t be anxious,” simple encouragement is not what Paul had in mind. “But when Jesus, or St. Paul, or St. Peter tell us in the pages of Holy Scripture, ‘Don’t be anxious,’ it has the force of a moral command. That means that it’s the moral will of God that we not be anxious – and that means that when we are anxious, when we do worry…we are sinning.” He said there are two reasons anxiety is sinful: it means someone is not trusting God to provide for them and they are not submitted to God’s sovereign will for their lives.[9]

            Pastors often draw their sermon ideas from commentaries. I surveyed eight commentaries, and only one called anxiety “sinful.”[10] I therefore hypothesize that pastors are picking up the idea to preach against anxiety as a sin from other prominent pastors, rather than from New Testament scholars.

      Christian author Sheila Gregoire and a research team surveyed 7,000 evangelical women on their experiences in church growing up and the impact of certain church teachings on their lives both in high school and today. They found that while church attendance generally has a positive impact on people’s lives, some church teachings have a negative impact on women’s life experiences.[11] One topic they addressed was emotional health. In the teachings they surveyed from popular Christian books sold to teen girls over the past four decades, they found that “Far too often, emotions are pitted against a healthy Christian walk with God.”[12] One focus group participant reported, “My children were told during a chapel service at their Christian school that it was a sin against God to feel anxious or depressed.”[13]

      When young women are taught in youth group or church that “anxiety is a belief issue,”[14] they struggle more with their already difficult emotional health. “Research confirms that, compared to adults, adolescents tend to experience more frequent emotional highs and lows, and they feel those peaks and troughs more acutely.”[15] The authors warn that teaching a girl anxiety is a sign something is wrong with her may cause her to internalize and hide her fears, trying to cope with them alone. This can cause her—and her care providers—to miss important clues those emotions are trying to communicate that her situation is unsafe. Perhaps she is in an abusive relationship or being bullied at school and her anxiety is an important warning sign.[16] An approach that leads to far better health outcomes is teaching girls that their relationship with God can be a safe space to process their fears, worries, and other emotions, rather than God being a source of condemnation for them. When healthy teaching about emotions is present, church community involvement can help girls with their emotional health because “Religiosity can be a positive coping skill.”[17]

When Christian leaders present anxiety as a sin to be avoided, they complicate life for people struggling with their mental and emotional health. What might Paul have intended to convey in his letter to the Philippians, and is this modern application true to his teaching?

I’m considering this still a draft of the paper and hope to revise it further. I would welcome your feedback! I want it to be as useful as possible for the church.

Subscribe now to get part 2 next Wednesday!

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                  [1] This is the definition for “anxious” in the free app How We Feel, a free daily emotion tracker, which I chose because it reflects an everyday understanding of the emotion concept.

            [2] Tim LaHaye, Spirit-Controlled Temperament, 22nd ed. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1976), 80.

            [3] Ibid., 70.

            [4] Ibid., 86.

            [5] John Piper, “Ask Pastor John, Episode 281, Anxiety: Sin, Disorder, or Both?” accessed February 19, 2014, https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/anxiety-sin-disorder-or-both.

            [6] In 2008, there were 50 million active anti-anxiety prescriptions in the US. Allan V. Horwitz, Anxiety: A Short History, Johns Hopkins Biographies of Disease (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013), 15.

            [7] Justin Bullington, “Tweet from @JustnBullington,” September 5, 2022,

https://twitter.com/JustnBullington/status/1566907100231614468.

            [8] Justin Bullington, “Reply from @JustnBullington,” September 5, 2022,

https://twitter.com/JustnBullington/status/1566948940058185734.

            [9] William Klock, “Respectable Sins: Anxiety & Frustration” (Living Word Reformed Episcopal Church, Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada, June 8, 2003), http://livingwordrec.ca/sermons08/060808pm.pdf. He notes the sermon series is adapted from Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate, NavPress, 2007.

            [10] Seven commentaries did not use “sin” language: Berthold Mengel, Studien zum Philipperbrief, WUNT 2 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1982); Gerald F. Hawthorne, Philippians, WBC 43 (Waco, TX: Word, 1983); Gordon D. Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (Grand Rapids: Eermans, 1995); John Reumann, Philippians, AB 33b (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008); Paul A. Holloway, Philippians, ed. Adela Yarbro Collins (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017); Lynn H. Cohick, Philippians, The Story of God Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013); Michael F. Bird and Nijay Gupta, Philippians, NCBC (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2020). One did call anxiety sinful: John MacArthur, Philippians, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody, 2001).

            [11] Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach, and Joanna Sawatsky, She Deserves Better: Raising Girls to Resist Toxic Teachings on Sex, Self, and Speaking Up (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2023), 20.

            [12] Ibid., 56.

            [13] Ibid., 58.

            [14] Ibid., 57.

            [15] Ibid., 52.

            [16] Ibid.,  61.

            [17] Ibid., 54.