Living for Others

Law of Stewardship

Law of Emotional Choice

Law of Human Dignity

Law of Present- Moment Living

Law of Esprit

Law of Mindfulness

Law of Forgiveness 

Law of Unconditional Love

Law of Personal Peace

LiveAbundantly.com
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Christ
Presbyterian
Church 
a center of faith 
for living abundantly

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USA 19026 

Focus on Certain Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness:
Living for the Present Moment
  

sermon from the pulpit of 
Christ Presbyterian Church                    
a center of faith for abundant living
The Reverend Clyde E. Griffith, pastor

This is one of the most familiar stories to most people who have an acquaintance with the Bible. And, we all probably have images in our heads about this scene and what the women looked like. Mary and Martha were sisters -- and, yet, they were as different as night and day.

Martha was the doer. The mother hen. You can see her, can't you? Wiping her hands on her apron and brushing the hair back out of her eyes as she hurries about making sure that everyone is taken care of. 
And then there's Mary. A thinker. A seeker. A dreamer more than a doer. 
While Martha hurries about getting the house in order, Mary positions herself at the feet of the teacher in rapt attention. She has never met anyone like Jesus before. Such wisdom, such power. Mary is swept up by his words.

Martha wishes Mary was swept up with the chores that have to be done. All her life Martha has been doing while her sister has been dreaming. Oh, Martha loved Mary; she just wished she would do her share. There was so much to be done. You know the drill: vegetables to chop, fruit to be washed, tables to be set. Martha even complained about it to the Master. "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve by myself? Tell her to come help me." 

Jesus loved and admired both these women. My guess is that he had a warm, understanding smile on his face when he said, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about so many things; yet one thing is needful. Mary has taken the good portion which shall not be taken from her." There is some wise advice here -- for us as well as for Martha. 

Jesus told Martha, "YOU ARE ANXIOUS AND TROUBLED ABOUT so MANY THINGS." He could have been talking to me! Or, perhaps, even you. If there is one characteristic that seems so common to so many in our world today, it is this: "You are anxious and troubled about so many things."

Do any of you have one of those new TVs? Do you know what one of the fastest selling new trends is? It's what they call a "picture-in-picture" television. This enables viewers to watch two shows at the same time on one screen. They are selling like hotcakes! The companies that make them can't keep up with demand! People actually think they need to see more than one channel at once. Actually, studies show that 75 percent of television watchers already view two shows at the same time by flipping back and forth between channels using remote controls. The TV industry calls this trend "grazing." The popular culture calls it channel surfing. Now I suppose that by skillfully flipping the remote while watching his picture-in-picture TV, Dad can actually watch four shows at a time.

We are a restless people obsessed with many things, aren't we? And certainly we are anxious about these many things. We have even coined a term, "stress," to describe our condition. Do you know that we can blame a fumbling young researcher named Hans Selye for introducing us to stress. Hans Selye was a little lax in handling his lab rats and had a bad habit of dropping them. He would then have to chase them around the room, and trap them beneath a sink. When they developed ulcers and shrunken immune tissues, Hans Selye did some tests and realized what was happening: his clumsiness was making them sick. Searching for a word to describe this response to life under tension, Hans Selye borrowed a term from engineering -- and "stress" was born. It's an important word.

Stress is probably the number one health problem of our age. About 25 million Americans are thought to have hypertension, although half of this number don't even know they have it. Stress is frequently found as the major cause for respiratory infections, arthritis, colitis, asthma, uneven heart rhythms, many sexual problems, circulatory problems, and even cancer. The doctors of the American Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine believe that 75 to 90 percent of all reported diseases are due in part to stress. Do you know what the three most prescribed drugs in America are? 
Valium for relaxation, 
Inderal for high blood pressure, and 
Tagamet for ulcers. 
Leaders in industry estimate that 50 to 75 billion dollars are lost each year due to stress-related symptoms. Stress takes a heavy toll on us. 

Even if our health is not at risk, certainly our peace of mind is. We're like that couple who had their home broken into. The husband heard a noise in the middle of the night. He went downstairs to investigate and found a burglar emptying the silver chest. He said to the robber, "Ah! I'm so glad you are here! Stay right where you are. I want to go get my wife. She has been expecting you for forty years." We are anxious and troubled about many things. But, remember what Jesus told Martha: only ONE THING IS NEEDFUL. 

Here is todays secret to living well -- knowing the abundant life Jesus talked about: 
Make sure your priorities are in order. 
Make sure your priorities are in order. It can help you sleep better at night. 
Make sure your priorities are in order. It can save you a few trips to the doctor. 
Make sure your priorities are in order. This is the key to working smart as well as working hard. 
Make sure your priorities are in order. This is an essential element of our faith. 
Make sure your priorities are in order.

John C. Maxwell tells about an Eastern Airlines jumbo jet that crashed in the Everglades of Florida sometime back. The plane was the now famous Flight 401, bound from New York to Miami with a heavy load of holiday passengers. As the plane approached the Miami airport for its landing, the light that indicates proper deployment of the landing gear failed to light. The plane flew in a large, looping circle over the swamps of the Everglades while the cockpit crew checked to see if the gear actually had not deployed, or if instead the bulb in the signal light was defective. 
When the flight engineer tried to remove the light bulb, it wouldn't budge. The other members of the crew tried to help him. As they struggled with the bulb, no one noticed the aircraft was losing altitude, and the plane simply flew right into the swamp. Dozens of people were killed in the crash. While an experienced crew of high-priced pilots fiddled with a seventy-five-cent light bulb, the plane with its passengers flew right into the swamp. 

Make sure your priorities are in order. 
Stephen Covey has published a book recently called, First Things First. Stephen Covey teaches seminars to corporate executives in some 200 of the Fortune 500 companies as well as many schools, and government organizations world-wide. This is his third best-selling book addressed to those who are engaged in the business of running the corporations and institutions that influence so much of our lives. He teaches seminars that tells these executives that their lives could be so much better if they make sure their priorities are in order, if they put first things first. He tells these executives, that in terms of better time management, in terms of personal goals and expectations, our greatest fulfillment comes when we live for a purpose higher than self.

Stephen Covey writes: "We settle for the illusion society sells us that meaning is in self-focus -- self-esteem, self-development, self-improvement -- it's 'what I want,' 'let me do my own thing,' 'I did it my way.' But the wisdom literature of thousands of years of history repeatedly validates the reality that the greatest fulfillment in improving ourselves comes in our empowerment to more effectively reach out and help others. Quality of life is inside-out. Meaning is in contribution, in living for something higher than self."

We've heard that before, haven't we? 
"Get your priorities in order," Jesus tells Martha. You are anxious about many things. But, really, there is just one thing that is important. Put first things first.
What counts most is this moment -- this time that we are spending with each other. And this is true for every moment you spend with another -- whether that moment is with Jesus -- or with your mother -- or with a friend -- or with me. This is the day the Lord has made, the Psalmist sings. What you get out of it, depends entirely upon what you do with it. This is the time you have -- he goes on, Rejoice! And be glad in it!

This is item twelve of his 22 Non-Negotiable Laws of  Wellness that Greg Anderson writes about that promotes your ability to feel better, to think better, and to live better than you ever thought possible: What he calls the Law of Present Moment Living.

Working with terminally ill cancer patients, and others with incurable illnesses, Greg Anderson observes that something dramatic happens in their lives, once they accept the reality that this day -- this time -- right now -- is what they have been given -- this is the day the Lord has given you -- yes, it may be one of your last -- do with it what you will. Make Today Count -- is the title of a foundation that works with these people. But it could be the title of this sermon. And the title of our Gospel. Greg Anderson writes, that "once we begin to appreciate the present moment, we start to realize what a wonderful place life is, no matter what the circumstances." 

He goes on: "The essence of the Law of Present Moment Living is this: if you're taking part in activities and entertaining thoughts that do not support life, that make you wallow in misery and indulge in negative thinking, then, no matter what you may claim to the contrary, you are polluting the moment." Remember the Psalmist said, that's not the right approach. That's not what life's all about. No, this is the day the Lord has made, so rejoice, and be glad in it. "If you are immersed in life-enhancing activities and enjoying them with positive enthusiasm, then you are living in the moment," Greg Anderson continues. "This a dimension of wellness that we are never going to know unless and until we cultivate a consciousness of living in the now." With a passion that comes from personal experience, he tells his cancer patients -- and all who will listen -- "Commit yourself to life....Now, I don't mean commit yourself to living a certain number of years. I mean commit yourself to living each day, fully, productively, joyfully. Commit yourself to wellness, even with cancer -- not as a distant dream, but as a here-and-now reality." Put first things first. Do today what you've always wanted to do. Start enjoying each moment by finding something enjoyable in it now! 

Some of you are pretty good at that. We all know someone who is really good it, don't we? 

This is what led Elizabeth Barrett Browning to write: "What frightens me is that men are content with not life at all." 
And although suffering a prolonged illness and confined to his bed, Robert Lewis Stevenson could write: "The world is so full of a number of things, I am sure we should all be as happy as kings." 
When Joseph Hayden was criticized for the 'gaiety' of his music, he said, "When I think of God, by heart is so filled with joy that the notes fly off as from a spindle." 
An old Russian proverb states: "Every day is a messenger of God." 
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: "One of the illusions of life is that the present hour is not the critical, decisive hour. Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year."
Johann Von Goetthe wrote: "Nothing is more highly to be prized than the value of each day." 
Even Horace  Mann could say: "Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, for they are gone forever."

This is the day the Lord has made. 
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year. 
And, really, only one thing matters: the moments you spend with others. 
Relax. Enjoy. Rejoice. And be glad.

You will know what the Psalmist sang about. 
You will understand what Jesus was telling Martha. You will experience the abundant life. Amen.

How to Live Healthier and Longer:
Focus on Living Certain Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness:
The Law of Life Mission (Living A Life of Purpose)
The Law of Service (Living for Others)
The Law of Stewardship
The Law of Emotional Choice
The Law of Human Dignity
The Law of Present-Moment Living
The Law of Esprit
The Law of Mindfulness
The Law of Forgiveness
The Law of Unconditional Love
The Law of Personal Peace

References:

The 22 Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness: Feel, Think, and Live Better Than You Ever Thought Possible
by Greg Anderson

Healing Wisdom: Insight, Wit and Inspiration for Anyone Facing Illness
by Greg Anderson

Journeys With the Cancer Conquerors: Mobilizing Mind and Spirit
by Greg Anderson

Sound Mind, Sound Body: A New Model for Lifelong Health
Dr. Kenneth Pelletier

Research Study: