THANK GOD FOR $4 GAS

“THANK GOD FOR $4.00 GAS”
MATTHEW 6:25-34

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 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?
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Do not be anxious. That’s what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. Do not be anxious saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?”

That sounds like good advice, but sometimes it’s hard not to be anxious. How can you not be a little anxious when you’re paying $4 a gallon for gas? How can you not be a little anxious when thousands of people are loosing their homes and you’re wondering if you or someone you love is going to be next? How can you not be a little anxious when there are terrorists out there who are trying their best to blow up trains, planes and buildings?

I think a lot of people today would agree with the man who said, “I have so many troubles right now. If something bad happened today it would be two weeks before I could get around to worrying about it.”

A lot of people today are anxious. How about you? Can you believe in God and still be anxious. Can you believe in God and still worry about the bills that have to be paid? Can you believe in God and still wonder if you’re going to be able to send your kids to college? Can you believe in God and still wonder if you’re going to have enough money when the time comes to retire and enjoy your golden years?

Ken Davis is a Christian motivational speaker who can answer that question. He tells a story about a science project that he had to do while he was in college. The science project was designed to demonstrate the law of the pendulum. The law of the pendulum states that when you release a pendulum it can never return to a point that is higher than the point from which it is released. To illustrate that point Ken Davis made a pendulum with a 250 lb. weight. He hung the pendulum from a beam in the ceiling. He did that with the help of four strands of 500 pound parachute cord. He then asked the professor to sit in a chair while he raised the pendulum to the tip of his nose. Now, with the entire class looking on with great interest, he asked the professor a question. “Do you believe in the law of the pendulum?” There was a slight pause before the professor nodded his head and said “yes.” As soon as he said that Ken Davis let the pendulum go. The pendulum made a swooshing sound as it arced across the room. After it reached its highest point on the far side of the room it started back toward the professor gaining more and more speed as it raced toward his nose. At the last second the professor dove out of the chair. Ken Davis later said he never saw anyone move as fast as the professor did that day. As soon as the professor picked himself up off the floor Ken Davis turned to the class and asked, “Does he believe in the law of the pendulum?”

That professor will tell you that you can believe and still be anxious. That’s also true when it comes to God. You can believe in God and still be anxious. In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if that’s what God wants right now. Maybe God wants us to be anxious. Maybe God wants us to be anxious so we’ll look at things differently. Maybe God wants us to be anxious so we’ll live our lives differently. That why a part of me wants to thank God for gas that now costs $4 a gallon.

Now I want to be clear here. I hate paying $4 for a gallon of gas as much as you do. Like most people I also don’t trust the big oil companies. Still, there something good that can come out of that now costs $4 a gallon. It’s making it harder for people to avoid another question that Jesus is asking us in the Sermon on the Mount.

The question that Jesus asked is a simple one. “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” If Jesus were to ask that question today he might put it this way. “Is not life more than driving a shiny SUV or living in a nice home with a three car garage? Is not life more than designer clothes or a cruise to Hawaii?”

Those are questions that you have to wrestle with when you’re paying $4 a gallon for a tank of gas. Suddenly you have to start making due with less and you begin to realize that it’s not the end of the world if you don’t have everything that you want when you want it. You begin to realize that all those things you have can be a real burden. That’s because the more things you have in your life the more things you have to worry about loosing. You also begin to realize that all those things that you have can also get in the way of your relationship with God and the people around you.

Of course, if you’re not careful that $4 a gallon tank of gas can also drive you further away from God and the people around you. You could end doing the same thing that a ten year old boy did one day. It all started when his mother gave him two quarters to buy two ice cream cones; one for his younger sister and one for himself. Unfortunately, while they were on their way to the store the boy dropped one of the quarters. As soon as the quarter hit the ground it rolled off the sidewalk and down a drain along the side of the street. Later when he got home the boy explained the unfortunate turn of events to his mother. He quickly reassured her though that the story did have a happy ending. “You’ll be glad to know,” he said, “that t even though we lost sister’s quarter I was able to hold onto mine!”

When you’re paying $4 a gallon for that tank of gas the temptation is always there to close your fist around that quarter and hold it even more tightly. Or you could decide that all the things that you can buy with that quarter really aren’t all that important. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

The answer to that question is obvious when you take a close look at the man who asked the question. Jesus didn’t have a lot of material things. He didn’t own a home. In fact, he once said, “Foxes has holes and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20) Jesus didn’t own a home. He also didn’t own a camel or a chariot. So, he had to walk everywhere he went. In fact, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday he did it while riding on the back of a donkey that he had to borrow from a complete stranger. As far as we know Jesus also didn’t have an extensive or expensive wardrobe. The only clothes he owned were the ones that he had on his back.

So, the answer to the question is an unequivocal “yes.” Life is more than food and the body more than the clothes that you wear.

The fact that Jesus didn’t have an extensive wardrobe brings to mind the story about the king who was so miserable that he couldn’t sleep. So, he summoned his wise men and asked them what he should do. One very old wise man stepped forward and made a suggestion. The wise man said, “Find a man in your kingdom who is content and wear his shirt for a day and night. That will help you find the secret to being content.” The king thought it was an excellent idea. So, he sent his servants out to search far and wide for a contented man. Several days went by and soon the days turned into weeks. Finally, the servants returned. “Well,” the king said. “Did you find a contented man?” One of the servants stepped forward and bowed before the king. “Your majesty,” he said, “we did indeed find a contented man.” The news filled the king with great joy. “Wonderful,” the king said. “Where is his shirt?” Once again the servant bowed before the king. “Your majesty,” the servant replied, “He didn’t have one.”

So there you have it. The next time you’re at the gas station pumping some of that $4 a gallon gas you can do one of two things. You can curse the oil companies or you can thank God for the reminder that there is more to life than the car that you drive and the house that you live in and the clothes that you wear. Okay, maybe you can do both. Maybe you can grumble a little and also give thanks. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes
May 25, 2008