Eleven years later Bobby McFerrin penned the now famous “Don’t worry, be happy,”. Another well-known favourite, as a bit of trivia, it was the first acapella song to reach number one in the pop charts. The song also won awards at the Grammys. The lyrics urge the listener to be happy whatever circumstances befall them.
These two famous songs have been echoing in my head ever since I read the gospel lectionary for this week (Matthew 6. 25-end). They express the same sentiments as the gospel writer — don’t worry about what you are going to wear, what you will eat or what you will drink.
Yet, these are not small things, all three are essential to life itself. No-one can survive without food or drink, and in most climates, some kind of clothing to protect the body is essential. So, it is not just a quaint sentiment but a really deep thought.
The rational of the gospel author is that one does not worry about these life sustaining items because God will provide them. It sounds great on first reading but if I am really honest — and when I write these blogs, I strive to be real and honest even if the topic is difficult — it simply doesn’t happen. God does not usually supernaturally provide food. There is only the story of manna in the wilderness and a couple of other tales where that happens. Nothing in contemporary society. Nor is clothing dropped from the heavens! So, I need to think about this gospel passage a little more.
This week I have been reading about, thinking about and talking about Aristotle’s golden mean and I am using that to try and gain some insight into this text. For those unfamiliar with the golden mean, Aristotle looked at virtues and saw how they fell between two extremes of deficiency and excess — pretty much the same understanding as the mean in mathematics. For example, if courage was the virtue, then the deficiency and excess could be cowardice and recklessness.
So, in the text’s context worry would be considered the excess so therefore I have been pondering what would be the virtue. I considered many alternatives to see how they would fit and, in the end, landed on ‘care’. If care was the virtue and worry was the excess what would be the deficiency, the other extreme? I spent much time pondering this, several conversations about it with +Andy, and ultimately came down to neglect.
Therefore, care is the virtue, with worry and neglect are the excess and deficiency on either side. As a practical example if a parent was allowing a child play near a river, paddling and skimming rocks. That parent could sit back on a blanket worrying about all the things that could happen, the child could get swept away in the current, the child could fall over and drown in six inches of water, etc. Or the parent could read a book or take a nap and completely neglect the child. Neither is helpful, what the child needs is care, to be able have a fun filled, safe and meaningful experience.
Now, I want to think about this in the context of the gospel. The explicitly stated excess is worry. The gospel writer implores the reader not to worry, stating that worrying will not add even an hour to their lives. But if the deficiency is neglect, somewhere in the middle is care. This fits well with one of the great Godly commands in scripture — love your neighbour as yourself. So, people care for themselves, but more essentially care for each other. If the virtue is care and everyone is caring for each other then all will be clothed and fed. Of course, that would be in a perfect world — but it is still a great aim. Don’t worry about what you will eat, drink or wear, but exercise the virtue of care for others. And back to Aristotle who urges his readers to makes the virtues habitual, so in this context build up the habit of care so it becomes a norm in one’s life rather than the excess of worry or deficit of neglect.
Last night I watched a harrowing news report on that terrible earthquake in Turkey and Syria — the death toll currently surpasses 33,000 and is expected to keep rising. Our prayers continue to go out to the families who have lost loved ones. As I watched the news clip, I saw ordinary people desperately clawing through the rubble in the bid to find survivors. What really stood out to me was that none of them was wearing gloves — how painful it must have been, yet all they were concerned about was finding any survivors.
I’m sure they had some worry (they wouldn’t be human if they didn’t) or even they could have just been glad they survived and walked away neglecting others, but what I saw was care. Care for their community, care for their loved ones, care for friends and care for strangers as they dug through the rubble. Others interviewed, who had homes still standing, had opened their doors even to strangers to provide shelter and care. One person who spoke to the presenter had taken in 30 other families stretching very limited resources. People putting aside the excess of worry and deficit of neglect as they sought to care for others. For me this really illustrated the heart of the gospel.
