Shade Tree Wisdom 5/17/10

“Take no thought, therefore, for
Tomorrow; for tomorrow will take
Thought for the things of itself.
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
Matthew 6, 34.

These are the ending thoughts on Jesus' word on worry. Where He speaks of lilies of the field clothed in rich color, and adds, “shall He not much more clothe you, oh ye of little faith? V.30.

Thomas Carlyle said, “Our main business is not to see what lies dimly in the distance, but to do what likes clearly at hand”. Good advice. One man read that line and determined to live his life in “day tight compartments”. By that he meant what happened yesterday is history what may happen tomorrow is in the future, so I will tend to what lies at hand for me to do, and do it to the very best of my ability.

The Psalm said it this way,

“This is the day that Lord has made,
We will rejoice, and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118,24.

The ancient Roman world lived by this motto: Carpe Diem. Seize the day, use the day handed to us.

When we face some problem that seems insurmountable, what do we do? Throw up our hands in defeat and say, “what’s the use?” Or do we start to think, what is the worst thing that might happen here. OK, be willing to have it so, accept it. Then, having done that, we can start to think how to solve it, or at least ease the burden. We are ready to take some direct action.

The chief thing about worrying is that it keeps us from doing, isn’t it? So why worry, do instead, and remember what Jesus said to us, not just the words above, but also, ”I am with you, even to the end of the world”.

What a welcome, assuring, restful promise that always is.

GPD 5/17/10