GOSPEL MESSAGE & RECORDING
You might be asking what does “Living in the Present” have to do with a Gospel reading that mainly deals with the idea of a “faithful” servant. As I contemplated the idea of being a faithful servant (or we can say, faithful Christian, faithful person), I asked myself the question, “What makes a Christian a faithful Christian?” Immediately, the Lord directed me to “living in the present.” That is, if a person desires to be a faithful Christian, he or she must live in the present. This means that a person is concentrated on what is happening at the moment. He or she is diligent in completing the task at hand. Future planning and contemplation are necessary but not to the detriment of the present task. Forward thinking is encouraged but not before the reality of the present is handled.
A faithful servant is responsible with the task or assignment given to him or her. He or she honors the task, thus, there is a great deal of respect that is given. There is also a strong adherence to commitment.
Those who are faithful are people who live in the present. The following points will help the reader understand this concept even more.
Responsible: Living in the present makes a person responsible for what she or he immediately has to do. It makes a person less prone to avoiding responsibility or “passing the buck” when situations are tough.
On Time: Living in the present makes a person on high alert to complete the task at hand rather than procrastinating. We put things off for the next day because we are thinking that the future will work for us or that it will give us space to complete the task that we were given today.
Focused: When we are focused on the present, we tend to be more successful and faithful to what God has assigned us to do. That is because we begin to produce better quality work.
Mindful of Oneself: Living in the present makes a person think about their plan and what God wants them to do, rather than focusing on others. When we think about the task of tomorrow, or a few months from now, rather than the present, a person may tend to evaluate how others are doing in comparison to them. This could lead to jealousy or a preoccupation with other people, which is serious roadblock to being a faithful person.
Content: When a person lives in the present, the probability of being content with life is higher. Thinking too much about the future can bring on anxiety, worry, and even fear. Our Lord Jesus Christ has taught us not to worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will have its own worries.
Healthy: If living in the present means less worry and anxiety, it also means less stress, which means a person is physically healthier. The more stress that we add on to our lives the more unhealthy we become. Stress is a leading contributor to diseases and illnesses. Living in the present reduces that stress because a person is not so preoccupied with tomorrow.
In conclusion, the present is also the past and the future. If we think about this sermon, that is, when it began it was the present. Now, the moment it began is the past, and what we thought of as the future, that is, the end of the sermon, is now the present. If a person is able to live in the present, he or she has already handled the past and the future. The past and the future belong to those who live in the present. And such people are “faithful.”