Somehow I looked up last week and I had turned 53. I'm not really sure how that happened, considering a self-imposed arrested development and the fact that I still like rock 'n' roll.

Fifty-three, zowie ... that makes me young enough to know how to blog, but old enough to remember Green Stamps and boxes of Breeze detergent with washcloths in them. Do you remember Dolly Parton's pitch? I loved it when she said one of the little towels came in "Huckleberry blue."

This also means that I'm close enough to retirement that I can see it coming. And, given the news from Washington and Wall Street, I'm really not sure I like what I see.

I've always had confidence that over the long haul, my pension would be safe and would grow, thus providing us a comfortable, though modest, retirement. I never expected to be rich except with friends, but now I'm wondering if that comfortable part is even a possibility.

Bailout. That is what we are hearing over and over. The government is bailing out the market, the banks and huge lending institutions and Wall Street. I feel overwhelmed by the scale of the economic news; I feel both ignorant and helpless. And to be honest, that makes me angry.

It makes me angry because with at least a remedial intellect, I've been able to manage my money in ways that were, I thought, wise and frugal. It makes me angry because, like everyone else, I can do nothing to fix the problem.

Bail out. Isn't that what one does after committing a crime? It sounds too ominous.

But does a governmental bailout resolve the problems that created the need for a bailout? Or will we continue to be a culture of credit, a culture that is all about getting what we want without discipline and economic modesty?

I find myself anxious about both my own future and the future of our nation. And then I recall that anxiety is one of those things that Jesus was very specific about.

"Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ... But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Come to think of it, I never saw a crow with a cafeteria plan or a mockingbird with a mutual fund. But what I have seen is how much God cares for me.

From the heart of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, these words, this advice, this truth from Jesus clearly shows that my anxiety has no place in my heart if I really practice what I preach. There is no such thing as a 401(k) in the gospel, but there is such a thing as faith. There are no thoughts about pensions and retirement plans with Jesus, unless of course we are talking about the retirement plan we should all be most concerned with, that one that is about eternity.

No, my worry is misplaced if I realize that what really matters will, indeed, be provided by my Father in heaven. That does not mean I should be naïve, nor does it mean I should not be diligent about the decisions made for retirement. But what it does mean is exactly what it says: Do not be anxious, for God will not let us down.

* The Rev. Matt Idom is pastor of First United Methodist Church of Bryan.

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