The Power of Today

From the moment we become aware of our mortality our minds ‘live’ in the future. Will we have enough money to retire? How much life insurance do I need? Will I ever pay off my student loans? The preoccupation with the future means we ignore the present.

The spiritual problem with ‘living in the future’ isn’t about greed or even charity. We don’t know when God will return. Neither do we know when we will die and ‘go to’ God. The spiritual problem with ignoring today is the chance that our soul will be unprepared for God.

BRETHREN, take care lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share in Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end, while it is said, “Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” Who were they that heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?

Hebrews 3.12-16

The gift of Great Lent every year is that we are intentional in our focus of today. We pay attention to whether today is a fasting day. Saint Paul’s advice to the Hebrew Christians was to remain focused on defeating sin today.

Let me put it another way. Since we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, today is the day to pray and fast and increase our charity. Today is the day to focus on God. Tomorrow will be another day, but it will never be today.

It is also easier to fight temptation when we choose to fight today rather than the rest of our life. Just like addicts are taught to say, “I will not drink today,” we should say, “I will not sin today.” Of course we want to avoid sin every day, but thinking in terms of eternity can be daunting.

Saint Paul didn’t want us to grow hardened and weary in our fight against sin and temptation. By focusing on today, we increase our chances to use embrace God’s power.