Given by Sherry Black at St. Stephen's, Harrisburg, IL on May 25, 2008. There’s an essay that occasionally makes its way around emails entitled ‘The Paradox of Our Age.” This essay is really an urban legend in itself. It was rumored that it was penned by a student that witnessed the Columbine school shootings. Another legend attributes it to comedian George Carlin. In reality the essay was written by Dr Bob Morehead, a pastor in Seattle. He wrote: We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less common sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom and lie too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things; we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice; we write more, but learn less; plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; more food but less appeasement; more acquaintances, but fewer friends; more effort but less success. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men and short character; steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure and less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one-night stands, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the show window, and nothing in the stockroom. Other than the bit about world piece, it seems to me that this is an accurate description of our 21 st century American society—and a far cry from Jesus’ instructions to us in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount includes all of chapters 5, 6, and 7, and today’s gospel reading is from there. It contains one of the most well known verses in all of the New Testament, a verse that has become a hymn: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” And pursuing the Kingdom of God on earth will change our lives and our values. In today’s reading, Jesus presents us with two significant challenges. The first is who will be our master, God or Mammon—Mammon is the Aramaic word used by Jesus and it means wealth, property, or possessions, nothing there is negative. The Greek world for serve means to be a slave, to be the possession of something or someone. We cannot be owned by both God and Mammon—and we get to choose who or what owns us.In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, you Gotta Serve Somebody. No matter who you are, young or old, rich or poor, no matter what stage or station in life, Dylan sang: But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed “Ultimately, there is only one choice—service, love, and devotion to God or to Satan. Loving God is not merely a matter of the emotions but of serving and giving oneself to him completely—heart, soul, mind, and strength.”1 Who will be your master? The second challenge is who will be our provider, God or anxiety and worry. Sure, there are appropriate times and circumstances for being concerned, but “worry is inappropriate or wrong when it is misdirected, is in wrong proportion, or indicates a lack of trust in God.” Jesus is speaking to a group of people much more aware of the daily struggles of lie than we are. Their daily concern was often just for day to day existence—something we have a hard time identifying with. But think of those in Myanmar, or in China, victims of recent catastrophes, wondering where the next meal or clean water will come from. This is a real challenge—to daily trust in God’s care and provision. For many, that means trusting that God will provide, as he does for the birds and for the wildflowers, knowing that human beings are more important than flora and fauna, and God is faithful. When Jesus’ “disciples pursue God’s kingdom and his righteousness in their daily priorities and activities, they will have all of their needs met by their ever-caring, ever-watching heavenly Father.”2 And when the disciples trust in the Father’s provision, they have no need to worry. Today’s worries can do nothing about tomorrows problems, except to steal from our valuable time and energy. Of course, God calls us to be responsible stewards of the resources he gives us, to use common sense to plan for the future, to be Christians in society and in business. The key is that we have no other God—whether it’s money, or success, or power, or self, nothing to stand between us and Jesus, our Master and Provider. A real danger for us is the idol of materialism, which is accumulating treasures on earth. With wealth, we can have material security. We feel good about ourselves in the way we dress, and live, and drive. Wealth gives us power to have and get and be what we want. Wealth gives us independence and self-reliance. Finally, wealth can provide the means for pleasure. Again, these are not necessarily bad or evil things by themselves, but there is the temptation to use the pursuit of wealth in order to fill the emptiness inside of us, the emptiness that only Jesus can fill. We will do well to consider “what is the most valuable thing in my life. Where am I spending my time, my energy, my money?” There are those among us, too, who make worry and idol. Our world is so full of cares and concerns regarding national and world affairs, and there are those who are sucked in by fear and worry, making themselves sick with worry and dread. Max Lucado wrote a little devotional to mothers: “I don’t know what I’ll do if my husband dies.” You will, when the time comes. “When my children leave the house, I don’t think I can take it.” It won’t be easy, but strength will arrive when the time comes. The key is this: Meet today’s problems with today’s strength. Don’t start tackling tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow. You do not have tomorrow’s strength yet. You simply have enough for today.3 This is the key to overcoming worry, to depend on God for giving us the strength that we need today, to accomplish what we can today, to rely on God today, and to trust that when tomorrows cares and concerns arrive, God will provide what we need when we need it. Alcoholics Anonymous has a motto: Let go and Let God. Let go of your worries, let God handle it, trusting in his loving care. In regards to wealth and to worry, the question is not what we have, but what has us. You gotta serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody. Who’s it going to be? ______________________________________________________________________ 1 Wilkins, Michael. The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew, 296. 2 Ibid. 299. 3 Qtd Wilkins, 305. |