Today's Trouble is Enough for Today

Matthew 6: 24-34 Marianne Niesen February 27, 2011

Before I read today’s scripture text, I want to set it up a bit by sharing something from one of the great theologians of our time. Irma Bombeck once said:

I've always worried a lot, and frankly I'm good at it. I worry about introducing people and going blank when I get to my mother. I worry about a shortage of ball bearings, a snake coming up through the kitchen drain. I worry about the world ending at midnight and getting stuck with three hours on a twenty-four hour cold capsule. I worry about getting into the Guinness World Book of Records under "Pregnancy: Oldest Recorded Birth." I worry what the dog thinks when he sees me coming out of the shower. I worry that one of my children will marry an Eskimo who will set me adrift on an iceberg when I can no longer feed myself. I worry about salesladies following me into the fitting room, oil slicks, and Carol Channing going bald. I worry about scientists discovering someday that lettuce has been fattening all along. [1]

Worry is, indeed, one of those things that does a number on us. It ultimately results in ulcers, wrinkles, sleeplessness, irritability, irrational behavior, lack of focus, unhappiness – and a whole host of other physical, emotional and spiritual symptoms of disease. And, we mostly know that and still we persist with our worrying ways. I worried about getting a sermon written this week that would be helpful and make some sense. I actually wrote the sermon on Friday morning as usual – but, trust me, I started worrying about it on Monday.

In my worried preparation, I found some research on worry by another preacher. Some years ago, in a business magazine, he found the following:

Stress management experts say that only two percent of our "worrying time" is spent on things that might actually be helped by worrying. The figures below illustrate how the other 98 percent of this time is spent:

40% on things that never happen
35% on things that can't be changed
15% on things that turn out better than expected
8% on useless, petty worries

98% of the time our worrying doesn't accomplish anything, yet we continually worry. We worry about our treasures, our homes, our possessions. We worry about finances, about children, about parents. We worry about our health, our futures. [2]

Indeed, as I read those observations, I was reminded of Mark Twain who once said, “I have been through some terrible things in my life; some of which actually happened.” But, honestly, most of which didn’t.

We do such a good job of imagining the worst that too often we miss the best. And, though we know this is true, it is also true is that telling people not to worry is not particularly helpful. Trying hard not to do something can just lead us to worry about what will happen if we can’t stop. We human beings are good at this! Still, stop we must if we are to enjoy the fullness of life God wants for us. So what do we do? That brings us to our scripture text for today. Just the fact that this is in the New Testament tells us that worry is not modern phenomenon. I am not sure how comforting that is but it is true that worry has been around a long time. And it has been a problem for a long time so much so, in fact, that even Jesus felt compelled to address it as he spoke to the crowds who followed him. Here’s what he said…Matthew 6: 24-34

At first glance, it may seem as if Jesus does exactly what I said was not helpful…do not worry about your life, what you’ll eat, what you’ll wear, what you’ll drink. Stop it already. And, indeed, he does repeat that message quite often. However, I think he also offers, even to 21st century hearers, a kind of strategy for a more peaceful life. And, for me at least, the beauty of what Jesus says is that he invites us to stop worrying by replacing it with something else – which is probably the best way to do it. It is not always easy – but, then, neither is worrying. Worrying is hard work and the side effects are serious. So, though opportunities for worry abound in life, Jesus invites us to try another way.

Look at the birds of the air. Become a bird watcher. Notice the flowers. Become an appreciator of what is around you. In other words, change your focus. Change it from what might happen or what did happen or what could happen to what is happening. Right now. Right here. Consider this ‘Jewish Story’:

The old Rabbi said, "In olden days there were men who saw the face of God."
"Why don't they any more?" a young student asked.
"Because, nowadays no one stoops so low," he replied. [3]

There is beauty around us. There is wisdom around us. Divine presence abounds. The great poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen. [4] The Greek word for ‘lilies’ means wild flowers or weeds. So Jesus called attention not to lovely landscaped yards – if indeed there were any – nor to flashy flowers held in high esteem by the horticulturists of the day. He called attention to weeds that grew up unannounced and uninvited. These lily-weeds were sometimes used for building fires in a place where firewood was often scarce. Look, said Jesus, notice the beauty with which God adorns even the lowliest of flowers. Just notice it for a while. Worry can be helped by the simple act of being aware, breathing deeply, appreciating the world around us. And that very act, by the way, is prayer.

Second thing…Jesus says… you’re worried about clothing and food and drink? Try this instead – strive for the kingdom of God. Put simply – do something to make the world better. We are not talking here about frenzied, worried activity. It can be a simple act. Smiling at a person in line at the supermarket. Letting another car in traffic. Thanking a store clerk. Volunteering to help in some cause. Sometimes the simplest things matter more than we know. Maybe, just maybe our act of kindness will make a difference in someone’s life who in turn will make a difference in another life. A story…

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

     So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."
     He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
     The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. [5]

In other words, even a worrisome situation can be an occasion for kingdom-striving. Again, it was Irma Bombeck who said “Worry is like a rocking chair--it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.” But, basic kindness, striving for the kingdom – now that gets us all somewhere and, in the process, worry is dissipated.

And, finally, embedded in the text – and central to almost everything Jesus taught – is to live with an attitude of gratitude. In fact, this scripture text is often the one chosen for Thanksgiving Day. Many of the sermons I read were thanksgiving sermons. Don’t worry, be grateful instead. The more I thought about it, the more I realized there is a fundamental truth to gratitude being an antidote to worry. Henri Nouwen, the Catholic priest and prolific writer on the spiritual life, at one point left his faculty position at an Ivy League University to live with the poor in South America. In his book, Gracias! he wrote about his insights from that experience:

In many of the families I visited, nothing was certain, nothing was secure, MAYBE there would be food tomorrow. MAYBE there would be no sickness tomorrow. Maybe…maybe not. (In other words, they had a lot to worry about!)But whatever came to these people, they still greeted life with joy and with “Gracias!” What I presumed from God as my rightful claim, my friends in Peru and Bolivia received as a precious gift. What I treated as common place was for them a joyful surprise. What I trivialized as ordinary, they celebrated with reverence and said, “Gracias!” And slowly I realized what I had all but forgotten and dismissed. All is grace. All is God’s gift!

Are those who can’t take for granted that they can provide for themselves more likely to trust God to provide? And are they more likely to say, “Gracias!” Thank You?
(Nouwen concludes…) Gratitude is what comes from our soul when we are freed from worry.[6]

But, quite frankly, I believe the opposite is also true. Practicing gratitude - even in our worried lives - is a spiritual discipline that can free us from the worry that seems so often to have a life of its own. Gratitude itself – finding something every day for which to be grateful – makes a difference. Keep a gratitude journal. It really does work.

Listen to this from the Authentic Leadership Institute:

Somewhere along the way, many of us got the idea that worrying would fend off future catastrophes, that if we took our eye off the ball and stopped worrying, something awful would happen. If we worried about our jobs, we wouldn’t be fired. If we worried about our loved ones’ well being, they wouldn’t get sick.

Gratitude swiftly banishes the worry warts – and this for two reasons. First, worry is always about the future whereas gratefulness is always in the present moment. Consider your list of worries: could it be that they are about what might or might not happen? Perhaps you’re worried about your boss’s reaction to your presentation tomorrow or about whether or not you will be able to afford sending your son to college. In either case, you are projecting yourself into the future and imagining something bad happening. Thankfulness brings you back to the present moment, to all that is working perfectly in the here and now. Gratitude also eliminates worry because it reminds us of the abundance of the universe. Yes, it is possible that something bad might happen; but given all that we have received so far, chances are that we will continue to be supported on our journey through life, even in ways we would never have guessed or chosen for ourselves.

Gratefulness is a magical thing. All one needs to do is use it and the world is suddenly transformed into a beautiful wonderland in which we are invited to play. That’s because one of the incredible truths about gratitude is that it is impossible to feel both the positive emotion of thankfulness and at the same time a negative emotion such as anger, self-pity or worry.

So which would you rather pick up and nurture: that lump of worry which makes your chest tighten and your breath shorten or the lightness of an attitude of gratitude for something – or some things – which are working in your life, such as your ability to hold a job, the car starting this morning or having slept well last night? [7]

And, all that from a secular online leadership journal! The point is, most of the time, worry is a choice and we can choose another way – through appreciation, positive action and gratitude.

The final line in today’s text, which is also the title of my sermon, is Today’s Trouble is Enough for Today. I suppose it sounds a bit negative but, more than being a warning, I think it is also an invitation. The fact is that there are troubles today and some worry – about two percent of it – is warranted. And the more we are able to keep today’s troubles in today and stop ‘awfulizing’ things, the better we will be able to trust God’s presence even amidst the worrisome events that deserve attention.

A third grade teacher was trying to teach her class how to use fractions, and she looked at a little boy in the front row and asked, “Billy, what is ½ of 5/16’s?” He thought for a moment and then – without missing a beat – replied, “Mrs. Smith, I don’t know what it is, but it’s not enough to worry about." [8]

So, as you deal with the worry that threatens your peace and tranquility, do take time to notice the birds and the lilies and the snow melting and the sun and the way the days are lengthening. Notice how bright the stars shine at night and how quiet everything gets in a snow fall. And, strive every day in some small way to make the world better. And be grateful.

In the words of Robert Frost…Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

[1] Cited by Max Lucado, He Moved the Stones, p. 59.
[2] Reflections on the text by Brian Stoffregen, Faith Lutheran Church, 2215 S 8th Ave., Yuma, AZ 85364,

http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/matt06x24.htm

[3] http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/allsaintb.htm

[4] http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/34329.html

[5] Original story by David Pollay. Reference found in many places.

[6] Mike Ripski, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com, italicized words mine.

[7] http://www.coachforauthenticleaders.com/up-to-your-neck-in-worry-gratitude-can-take-it-all-away/

[8] from a sermon on this text by James Merritt, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, found at www.esermons.com.