Clown
My friend Mak is an engineer. He is currently working on a airship which flies itself. Get a load of that…it flies itself for crying out loud. I can barely dress myself, and this machine will be able to fly all on it’s own. Last week my laptop starting ringing like a mobile phone. I opened it up and my Dad’s face was on the monitor and I could hear him speaking to me from Bangladesh. It was one of the most disturbing experiences of my life. For a second I actually thought my dad had infiltrated my mind and was taunting me through my laptop. They call that technology Skype, but I call it the Matrix.
In less than eight months it is claimed that a group of London scientists will have invented an alcohol which has all the pleasurable aspects of a normal bevvy, but absolutely no detrimental effects on the liver or the mind. I have just rammed a nasal spray canister up my nose because I have a cold, and though it has only been 15 seconds since I used it, I can now breathe perfectly. Gents, there is no denying it, the human race has technology in a head lock and is ramming it into new leagues every single day.
But we still have one major thing in common with the sloth. We have no clue what is going to happen in ten minutes time.
The technology to predict what is yet to happen does not look like surfacing in our lives anytime soon. In fact, though we can order food through a computer and get it delivered to our front door, if just 1cm of water falls onto the road leading to your house, and that water freezes, you won’t be getting your pizza anytime soon. Human beings have conquered space travel, but still cannot tackle a little bit of ice on the road.
On Sunday night I bowed my head with my Christian friends and we prayed for our futures. Usually when I pray for my future I ask God to guide me to new things. New house, new car, important things like that 
But as I read more about Jesus I am struck by how many times he tells his followers not to worry about what’s coming next.
Though it is true our fast-food culture blatantly urges the individual to sign up for things now, it also whispers “Be afraid” and “What if”. Adverts about what will happen if you do not buy into something are on the rise. I have recently been told that my skin will wrinkle, my hair will fall out and the windscreen on my Fiat Punto will crack, unless I hand my money over now.
So I worry about my future. Even when I pray I worry about it. And then I realise I’m not actually praying, I’m babbling. When I talk to God about my future I sound like I don’t really trust him. I emphasise certain things to make sure he hears them properly. Like God has a hearing difficulty or something. “My God is great, deaf as a post but still great.”
I need to get real about what Jesus says about my future. Talking to his followers in the account of Matthew, he says:
“Your Father knows what you need before you ask him…
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
I need to stop babbling like a drunken clown and start trusting.
