Exhortation, and Some Respond, "Stop Preaching at Us."

The English verb worry comes is a descendant of the Middle English word worien and the Old English word wyrgan, which is similar to the Old High German word wurgen. This Old German word means to strangle. From this we can see some of the connotations our transitive verb to worry. To worry someone is to “subject [them] to persistent or nagging attention or effort,” or “to afflict with mental distress or agitation” (Webster's Online). These senses of worry are closely associated with the words cavil and quibble. We can “strangle” someone by continually nagging them; and in fact nothing makes a person more unbearable than continual reproaches and minor criticisms. Remember that “love covers a multitude of sins” and that it's a glory to pass over a transgression. Unfortunately, cavilers often mistake themselves for cavaliers, doing the nasty but necessary work of perfecting others. They portray themselves as knowing what other people do not know and for some reason cannot see. But again, we need to be careful, for “there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Pro 14:12). This sin is most likely to overtake us in our closest relationships, for instance, with our wives or our children or our brothers and sisters. Against this we must remember to love our neighbors, who are simply the people who live around and with us, as ourselves.

Thank you, I'm Scott Montgomery. Good night.