No Chokers

How many of you [ladies] owned a choker – that close-fitting necklace?  They may still be fashionable although I mostly remember them as high fashion in the 70’s and 80’s.  Isn’t “choker” a strange name for a piece of jewelry!

Oswald Chambers suggests each day comes with “mean little imps” – I chuckled at that humorous description of those naggies that cause us to worry about stuff!  Lest we miss His point, Jesus said “do not be anxious” three times in just a few verses of Matthew 6.  Anxiety can be a real show-stopper!  Did you know that chokers actually first appeared in 1798 as French jewelry worn by wealthy ladies?  They were worn by ballerinas and queens in the 1800’s.  Consequently, however, they were also used as a form of bondage in the Middle Ages, worn by slaves.  Anxiety easily holds us captive, choking out (replacing) the faith we should place in God, Who is our full Portion and Sufficiency.   In Matthew 6:25, Jesus says, “Take no thought for your life” (KJV) or “Do not be anxious about your life” (ESV).  I suspect many of us wear spiritual chokers relying on self-sufficiency.  Jesus said “your Father knows” our every need and will faithfully provide.  I probably owned a few chokers “in the day,” but I’m done with that fashion!  However, I’d really like to make a spiritual fashion statement by laying aside life’s anxieties and really trusting My Father like I should – what do you say?