I recently went an entire day without being completely in the present. I was anxious about something that would happen a few days later. Every spare second my thoughts would begin to move toward that upcoming problem which robbed me of the joy and thankfulness which I could have been experiencing that day.
I don’t think I am alone in struggling with this. I have heard many people say to me that they spend more time looking to the next phase of life instead of being thankful for life as it is now. This can happen at any age. Recently an 80 year old patient told me that he was disappointed in reaching his eighties because he thought they would be his “golden years,” and somehow different or better than when he was in his seventies.
To “live in the moment” is a theme that makes its way through advertising, movies and pop psychology. Nick Saban, recently retired Alabama head coach, constantly lived by the mantra “be where your feet are,” and he attributes this to his success. Though the idea of living in the moment has been overused and become cliche, it is a thought that is attractive in a distracted culture. Looking back at old photos we see people gathered around each other watching a football game or at a birthday party where there are no cell phones in sight. It is a glimpse into a time where people found it easier to live in the present moment, without being interested in what their friends are doing on social media or worried about what is going on in countries on the other side of the world.
This concept of living in the moment has also appealed to cultures in the past. Leo Tolstoy wrote a powerful short story called “The Three Questions.” In the story, a King goes on a quest for truth, his mission being to find the most important time, people, and things to do. In the end, (spoiler alert) he finds that the most important time is now, because now is the only time in which he has the power to act. This realization along with the discovery of other truths completely changes the King’s outlook on his life and duty as a leader.
Living in the present is certainly a popular message in the cultures of today and yesterday, but how should we interpret this philosophy from a Christian perspective? Is this mindset something which is opposed to the message of the bible? Or is it instead a truth that can be reconciled with Scripture and a Christian worldview?
Surprisingly, there is evidence for “living in the moment” within Scripture, with a condition. This condition is dependent on the particular reason why you live in the present moment. The world generally stresses the importance of living in the moment for one reason, which is, to live for yourself. According to this worldview, living in the present moment is the only way to enjoy the pleasures of this life. You only live once, after all, and therefore you must get the maximum amount of pleasure and happiness from each moment by gratifying yourself. The fatal flaw in this mindset is that it assumes that we should be living for ourselves, which is opposed to what the bible teaches.
The biblical reason for living in the present is very different. It is an acknowledgement of our creaturely limits. As limited, dependent creatures, we cannot (currently) serve God in the future because we do not know whether we will live to see tomorrow. We also cannot do anything to change the past, though we can learn from it. The Christian life is lived on the razor-thin edge between the unchangeable past and the unknowable future. Understanding this is simple enough, living it out is very difficult. It is hard to accept our human limitations, but we find that in embracing them we become truly free.
We can only obey God in the time which we have been given, which is now. Therefore spending large amounts of mental energy on the unchangeable past or the unknowable future is fruitless. Of course we should praise God for His works of grace in the past as well as trust Him for His promises in the future, but part of acceptance of being a created human being is understanding our limits. This results in a life spent living in the present. A life spent trusting God in each moment and obeying Him in each moment.
This is a theme seen in the Old Testament when God supplied the Israelites with manna from heaven. When provisions are given in the desert, the natural response is to gather it up. To place it in storage or stockpile it for times when there would be no food. But God expressly commands them not to do this (except on the 6th day). Why? Because they were to depend on God every day to provide for them. He is the Sustainer, we are the creatures which need daily sustenance. We also see the warning in the parable of the rich fool who gathered up for Himself barns of plenty, telling himself that he could rest and relax for many years to come. He trusted in his wealth on earth, failing to recognize that he may not live to enjoy it. God supplies what we need daily, whether that be by material provision or keeping our hearts and organs working.
This translates to our lives as we follow Jesus’ instruction in prayer. “Give us this day our daily bread.” No matter how secure our provisions seem to be, they can be taken from us in an instant as they were from Job. This is why Jesus commands us to live a life of continual, moment by moment dependance on Him. It is a calling to live each minute by faith, believing that He is the ultimate Provider of the physical and spiritual sustenance that we need to live and carry on.
Failure to understand this often leads to stress and anxiety. In the sermon on the mount Jesus says, “Do not worry about tomorrow.” Truly this is a different way to live as compared to our normal way of viewing things. Jesus used the example of birds and flowers to illustrate that we are to depend on our Heavenly Father as they do. Not worrying about tomorrow or stressing about the future and letting these thoughts affect the way we live today. But instead seeking God’s kingdom in the present tense, knowing that God will provide for us today and in the future.
In speaking, we see this exemplified in Scripture as well. We are to trust God to give us the words to speak in the moment which we are to speak them. Before going to Egypt, Moses was given some limited instruction on what to say to Pharaoh and to the Israelites. But when he complains to God about his lack of eloquence, God answers him by saying that He would help Moses and Aaron to speak when the moment arose.
Similarly in the New Testament, Jesus tells the disciples that when they are brought before the men in the synagogue, not to worry about what they would say, because the Holy Spirit would teach them “in that very hour” what they should speak. Through examples like these we learn that although we should meditate and store up knowledge through memorization, ultimately we trust in God to supply the words we need in the season that we need them. He can give us “the tongue of the learned,” (Isa 50) to sustain the weary that we encounter in our lives. We trust him to do this day by day, moment by moment.
In growth, the Christian life progresses in the present. We have no ability to change the past or understand the future, therefore the only thing left is to trust God and obey Him today, in the finite time which we have been given. Growth is a slow and often inconsistent process in the life of a Christian, similar to a tree which slowly goes through seasons of growth and then seasons of winter which create rings as it expands gradually over time. Even the fastest seasons of growth are only a collection and summation of individual moments in which we trust God and obey Him by the power of the Holy Spirit, facing each challenge and temptation by faith. The way forward in growth is in trusting and obeying God today.
There is biblical evidence for “living in the moment” as a Christian, but not for the purpose of serving yourself. It is simply all that is to be done as a created being. It is an acceptance of our human limitations. Living with this acceptance leads to thankfulness and joy in our present situation instead of wishing for something tomorrow. May we each learn more about what it means to live in the moment as a Christian.
