Eyes on Today

In 2016, a National Basketball Association player was intentionally distracted by another during a game. JR Smith, then with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was on defense, and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Jason Terry hopped off the bench to give him a high-five and a hug. While this happened, Tony Snell (who Smith should have been guarding) slipped underneath the basket for a wide-open score. Nearing the end of his 19-year career, Terry used a super-savvy move to give his team one easy shot. The confusion on the faces of Cavs players was funny to see, but it wasn’t funny for them.

It’s easy to take our eyes off the moment to look elsewhere. Sometimes, we look back at the past. Sometimes, we look ahead and wonder about the future. But taking our eyes off where we are can lead to problems.

That is why Jesus said in the Lord’s Prayer to pray for today’s daily bread. He doesn’t want us to worry about provisions for tomorrow. He wants us in the here and now. In Matthew 6:34, Jesus says, “Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Our Savior was concerned that if we focus too much on tomorrow, we will suffer from worry and fear today.

Planning for tomorrow is good, but we also need to live in the moment. If we fixate too much on something else, we will add more stress than our Lord wants us to have. By staying fixed in the moment, we can serve God and others better and not add unnecessary stress.