Today's Trouble is Enough

When I was in junior high school, I had Mr. Baines for two years of Spanish. Mr. Baines was legendary. My older brothers told me that he ran a hobby shop on the side, and periodically would offer to buy or sell Lionel model trains. What they didn’t tell me about were his teaching methods. After every test he would line us up along the wall and then call out names in test score order. Those who scored lowest he put in front, where he thought they would learn better. He didn’t seem to notice the shame on their faces, or consider that this was not the best form of encouragement.

Mr. Baines was fond of saying “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” It was some years before I knew what that meant. Eventually I realized that he was simply quoting the King James Bible’s version of “Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Perhaps I wouldn’t have paid much attention anyway at that age, even if it weren’t in Jacobean English. But I have come to appreciate those words, and the ones Jesus spoke before them: “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.”

When I became a teacher myself – having learned what not to do from people like Mr. Baines – I had to put his saying into practice. I would stress over the weather forecast for a scheduled field trip, and then the rain would come later. Eventually I learned to make contingency plans and then set aside my worries. It’s a mantra I still tell myself (and others): deal with what is, rather than worry about what might be.

Jesus applied these words to more fundamental needs than field trips, however. “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” He spoke this to people who lived a hand-to-mouth existence. Jesus insisted that God knew what they needed and would provide it. His words take on even more meaning in an economy like ours, driven by consumption, where advertising stokes the desire for ever more possessions. This is a distorted desire, one that drives us apart and leads us away from God. No wonder that Jesus says, “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness” – or, as the version beloved of Mr. Baines puts it, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” Desire for God must be primary. All other desires must flow from that.

Focusing on the needs of today does not exclude planning for tomorrow. It’s only prudent to plan for “what if,” to have a contingency in mind. What Jesus excludes is being so caught up in what might happen in the future that the reality of the present is ignored. After all, the present is where we experience God, here and now. The present is where we have the everyday choice of whether to listen to God or not. The present reveals our true desires.

Like my brothers, I got through Mr. Baines’ classes. I was one of the fortunate ones assigned to the back row. I even remember some Spanish. But perhaps the most lasting memory was that admonition not to worry about tomorrow, because there’s plenty to deal with today. Let God worry about the rest.

[Epiphany 8: Matthew 6:24-34.]