Trivial Matters
I’m brushing my teeth. Trivial. Routine. I remember something Bob said in Israel. When he ties shoelaces, he always does it in exactly the same way, starting with tightening the laces on one shoe, but not tying the knot, then tightening the other shoe, then returning to the first one to tie the knot, then the second. Why? Because it is a trivial event converted into something that consciously makes him think about God’s order. The trivial made into a reminder.
So, I’m brushing my teeth. Why couldn’t that also become a spiritually important moment? Brushing teeth reminds me, if I think about it, that God made my mouth, that God takes care of my mouth so that I may speak on his behalf. That reminds me of Moses and that reminds me of God’s name and that reminds me of God’s instructions, and suddenly, brushing teeth is a Torah event.
I see the water go down the drain. That reminds me of Exodus and God’s use of water. That reminds me of water as an instrument of both life and death. That reminds me of Yeshua’s proclamation about being thirsty. That reminds me that I live in a place where water is not polluted. Most of the world does not enjoy this taken-for-granted privilege. That reminds me that God placed me in the world where I didn’t have to worry about what I drink. That reminds me of the compassion I should feel for every person who does not enjoy this privilege simply because of the place of birth. And that reminds me to be grateful. In fact, the very presence of a toothbrush is an occasion for gratitude.
If you think about it.
So, are these trivial matters. Is this phrase an adjective and a noun? Or should be read “matters” as a verb? Trivial matters. Yes, what is trivial does matter because God is the God of everything. When we stop thinking of Him in the most mundane experiences of our lives, we rob ourselves of spiritual insights. We make the non-trivial world into something without consciousness. We diminish our lives.
Trivial matters.
How will you convert those “nothings” into reminders of the great Something?
Thank you for sharing this Skip. What great reminders. I’ve had those moments in life before where I’m so very sensitive to the miracles of God all around me like clean, running water or my hearing that can perceive the morning songs of the birds. I pray my heart never becomes dull again to the trivial matters.
To watch a Hand take away the most ‘trivial’ things and experiences in our lives; to see what it is to live without them; to live in a world where you have turned, overnight into a pariah – an Unseen- someone to be shunned and regarded as not-quite-human, and therefore not ‘worthy’ of the commonest of courtesies: to stay there until you forget what it even tasted like, why you even thought you might have wanted any of it in the first place; why it mattered at all what others treated you like or thought of you IS perhaps to start from the easiest place of all to know what true gratitude might be. The hardest sum in the book is actually going to be the easiest to figure….
IF gratitude IS the attitude of the Kingdom, then perhaps whatever road takes us to that place is going to be the road to be on, but who of us can put ourselves on that Road? Its name is Denial, and its attributes are Everything I Ever Thought I Did Not Want. How many ascetics have tried to invent the way? Did any ever succeed? Ask yourself what examples we have in Scripture of any righteous ones actually PUTTING THEMSELVES on that road? Of SELF-chastisement?
But what I have found are examples of those, listed as highly favored, who were put there by a Hand not their own. And it is that same Hand that pulls them back out of that Refining Fire at just the right time. Who among us have ever figured out how to do even the first of those actions correctly? What child has ever spanked themselves convincingly? At a certain point in development, at least some children will get that thought in their heads – you know, the self-penance thought, and proceed accordingly. I remember trying it myself. Do you know how hard it is as a parent to keep a straight face while you see your small child march resolutely over to that switch bush and carefully select just the ‘right’ twig to do it with? But how many of us have attempted self-penance in all its thousand forms? And for what purpose? Y’all, its embarrassing. In the end, choosing to submit to the Hand of the Father is going to be the only choice in town that actually gets the job done. I find no evidence in Scripture that He binds up self-inflicted wounds!
Is there anything more horrible than waking up to find yourself unable to taste the food correctly, to enjoy any of life’s pleasures; to feel worthy of any of the small or large courtesies and give-and-takes that make up our interactions with those around us? And how many people DO find themselves in that horrible shape? Unable to feel thankful? Worse than a prison cell, for sure. But that is that road of death the yetzer ha-ra is on. Indulgence in desire makes it harder to satisfy the next time, until the time comes when nothing is good, and we find ourselves writing Ecclesiastes!
May our prayer always to for the chastisement of Him Who is Faithful. True gratitude can only start at that wound-binding. For all the obvious reasons.
It’s something that I’m envious of that I just never grew up doing – being grateful for everything. I know that Jews today have prayers for just about everything, from the moment that they wake up to to the moment that they go to sleep. I’ve bought a prayer book before to try to implement prayers, problem is there are so many prayers in it have no idea even where to start. It’s something to be said for implementing ‘thanks’ just for the fact that my fingers are working properly today so that I can type this. Defiantly something that I should start noticing the mundane task and if nothing else give thanks that I can actually do them.
Sometimes on a nice day I would go out into my back yard, and just listen to the birds,even the rustling of the trees and I thank the father for such a blessing, little things , but very important and I thank him daily for the trivial matters question, did anyone ever notice the leaves on the trees, how the leaves are turned upwards, as if they also are giving thanks to our heavenly Father? TRIVIAL MATTER!
Love this post! Seems to me when we forget about all these trivial things (that really aren’t trivial at all) we tend to become focused on our shortcomings, or the shortcomings of others or all the things in life that are imperfect. Being grateful for the bountiful blessings we experience each day keeps us in a healthy place, a place where we know His love for us, a place where discouragement is not invited to lodge. That’s how it works for me anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely grateful for all the study and uncovering the intricacies of the languages and “intellectual stuff” that happens on this site, but this is a great reminder to step back and just enjoy being His! Very refreshing!
I have a plaque in the bathroom that says “Thank you God for letting me see the colors.” Some folks may see that and think “trivial” or silly, but I actually like it a lot! As the others posted earlier, may we never become unaware and the Jewish prayers are a great place to start!
PS Skip, I just want to add that I am one of those who hopes you make time to rest and that you find out if you are lacking minerals or whatever it is that will keep you healthy because God has used your work and continues to use your work in our family. It is one of those things I don’t take for granted! Honestly it felt like we were approaching “irreconcilable differences” and then God used your teachings to help get us onto the same page (well, maybe into the same chapter so to speak :). Blessings, and please take care of yourself and your family!
Funny that this was the post today. I was lying in bed this morning and thinking about the Jewish practice of thanking God for everything, and in doing so, it lead me to remember how God used other things to show His glory. What an incredible practice that Christianity has denigrated as being ritual and legalistic. We don’t know the depth of what we have lost in the separation from pre-Rabbinic Judaism.
Skip, thanks for reminding us that the Father is in the “mundane” details. It is so easy to just go through life without considering all that Father as done and is doing every day in our lives.
How True!!!!!!
“What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you had thanked God for today?”
I saw this on a poster recently and needed to say OUCH! Thanks for your reminder too, Skip!
I love how the ‘Jewish’ ways are not rushed, but deliberate and daily – a step by step walk on the pathway….just keep thanking! We have so much for which to be grateful and to praise HIM.
I was talking to my grown kids a while back and explaining to them how in the Hebrew mindset we learn to give thanks for everything…I told them that I am even thankful for things like going to the bathroom. They thought that was funny and strange until I reminded them that their grandmother suffered from colon cancer and lived out her last year with a colostomy.
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Romans 1:21
Shalom,
Tom
Like Tonya in the above comment, I find this so refreshing.
Once, my late Dad-in-law remarked to my sis-in-law that I am a perfectionist (everything must be in its proper place, and done precisely-that’s me), wow, I wasn’t aware he was observing me. We lived diagonally across the road from him, and my parents-in-law’s house is on slightly higher ground.
That struck me that you never know who’s watching you. My daughter used to say-Mom, must we be so sterile? These days with her own kids, she’s doing the same, carrying chemical-free wet wipes where ever they go, making sure they wipe their hands whenever they touch anything in public! ;- )
Brought this verse to mind-
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” Luke 16:10
Taking a little more care/thought and attention to what we do, do get us better results and satisfaction :- ).
Trivial matters! Shalom!