June 2, 2003

BLESSINGS BY THE HELMETFUL

A homeless man in his seventies is in frequent phone contact with the church. He talks with either Alice or me, asking how the past Sunday’s service went, or sharing his latest theory on earthquakes. Unless I bring the subject up, he never discusses his well-being. Even after a night-long rain or very cold temperatures, he doesn’t ever complain about having to sleep outdoors.

Today he called, and the conversation followed the usual line: “How was the sermon yesterday?. . . .Say, I heard an interesting interview on National Public Radio with this seismologist who has some great ideas on an earthquake early warning system . . . . ”

After I listened for a while, I asked about him: “I guess the cold weather’s over; the nights should be a little easier to get through. Do you have everything you need?”

His answer was a classic: “Need? In the army I was taught that a helmetful of water was all a solder needed for a day. First, you drink some. Then, you brush your teeth. Then you ‘spot wash’ your body. Then you wash your socks and underwear. Finally, you catch a chicken and make soup.”

My response was, “That would be some well-seasoned soup.” He said, “Yup,” and that was the end of the conversation about his needs.

Some of us could carry on for quite a while with complaints about certain unmet “needs” that my homeless man wouldn’t consider needs at all. He might say: “Here’s a helmet. Now, about that latest earthquake study . . . .”

Jesus said:
“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? . . . . Do not worry, saying , ‘What will we eat?’ or “What will we wear?’ For it is the unbelievers who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
(Matthew 6:25, 31-33)
Essentially, Jesus was saying, “Trust God, and he will meet your needs, for he knows what they are.” He will give us the things he considers our needs.

That’s a risky attitude to have. What if God’s idea of what we need amounts to a helmetful of water? He guarantees we’ll have it, but he doesn’t guarantee all the other things we consider to be needs.

Faith in God is always risky. It means believing that he knows what is best for us—and staking our life on it.

–Pastor George Van Alstine