A wise man once told me these words: “Yesterday is a cancelled check, Tomorrow is a promissory note, Today is cash money!” It was more than 40 years ago and I have never forgotten it. I refer to it often in conversations with younger people, other faith leaders, and even the myriad of professional people that I interact with. I ask the question, how are you spending your cash?
It seems that so often we get caught up in the challenges of the deficiencies in our institutions that we forget that the institutions are people, and represent people, and serve people. The core ingredient in “institutions” is people. Institutions are under attack by those who do not wish for them to change toward correcting long term issues.
Institutions are under attack by those who want to manipulate the purpose of these people serving institutions toward ends that do not serve the people who need the service most. The pressure on these institutions that provide structure for our society is creating a sense of urgency for me.
There is a powerful verse in the Bible, the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 verse 1. It says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” I love the power of the immediacy of this verse, as well as the strength of its prophetic message.
The verse suggests that something as intangible as “faith” is solid enough to build hopes and dreams upon, as well as provide vision for a future that we can describe but not truly see. It is a faith in each other, a faith in our God, a faith in our institutions, and a faith in our own abilities.
I cannot stress the importance of NOW, especially in light of the present political environment. If we are not invested in “now”, we will have no room to complain about the perils of tomorrow, or the “what if’s” of yesterday. I hear the criticism of the generations of today when my generation spends time in the “would have, should have, could have” conversations.
I also hear my generation challenging them not to make the same mistakes, take advantage of all of the accomplishments, and move things further ahead. It is a “now” moment that we are in. This election “now” will affect the futures of everyone living, and those yet to be born. There is something urgent about this moment.
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines now with three important tenses. Now- at the present time or moment, as in “Now is the time for action.” Now- in the time immediately before the present, as in “I thought of them just now.” Now- in the time immediately to follow, as in “Come in Now!”
All of these tenses speak to where we are, where you are. You cannot afford to think that your actions don’t matter NOW! There is so much at stake, for the present time, for the moments that just passed, and for the moments that will follow. NOW!
I cannot stress the urgency of your personal involvement, NOW! It is time now to vote. It is time now to get involved in your community. It is time now to get involved with your family. It is time now to get engaged with the next generation.
There has never been a more important NOW! You have probably heard this before, but you must understand that it is true. There has never been a more important NOW!
