The best way to deal with stress is to be like Jesus Christ. Pastor Rick Warren from Saddleback Church certainly believes so as he cited the Bible verse Matthew 11:29, which reads: "Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Warren wrote on his website that practicing gentleness and humility just like Jesus is the key to reducing stress. For sceptics who believe practicing endurance, stamina, confidence and courage are the answers to stress management, Warren suggested they try something else for a change.
The pastor said the two biggest cause of stress in one's life are actually arrogance and aggression, so the best solution for these things are gentleness and humility.
"Aggression happens when you do things too quickly. You don't wait. You don't ponder. You don't delay. You don't think it through. You don't trust God's guidance and direction. You just jump in with both feet," he said. "And as a result, you get over committed, and you fill up your life with a lot of things that it shouldn't be filled with."
As for arrogance, the pastor said it is "the idea that you know what's best for you, so you're going to control everything in your life. You think you can handle things better than God can."
Warren said these two things undoubtedly create a great deal of stress in one's life. When people make assumptions that they can do it all, have it all, be it all, and experience it all, they are actually practicing aggression and arrogance.
"What's the antidote? Gentleness and humility. The two things we think we don't need in life are the two things that reduce stress in our lives," he said. "You've tried everything else to reduce your stress. Why don't you try trusting God? Come to Jesus. He is gentle and humble of heart, and He will give you rest."
