The Mexican Fisherman

by Pastor Larry Sorrells, Rockville, Trinity UMC

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his followers, “Stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” It is some very good advice that sometimes we forget in our attempts to “get ahead.” Although it is important to prepare ourselves for a better tomorrow, too often we forget about the blessings of today.

An American businessman was on a short vacation fishing off of a pier in a small, Mexican coastal village when a single fisherman in a small boat came into the dock.  Inside the small boat were several large, yellow-fin tunas. The American complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. Only a little while said the fisherman.

“Oh really,” said the businessman “So why aren’t you out there catching more fish?” The Mexican told him, “Oh, I have enough here to take care of my family’s needs for several days.”

The American then asked the Mexican how he spent the rest of his time. The Mexican fisherman said, “I usually sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, then stroll into the village each evening and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor.”

The American scoffed, “Well, that’s nonsense. Look, I have an MBA, I know business and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would likely need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then maybe to LA and eventually NYC where you would run your international enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman said, “Wow, how long will this all take?” To which the American replied, “Maybe 15-20 years.” “Then what would I do?” inquired the Mexican. The American laughed, and said, “That’s the best part! When the time is right, you would announce an IPO (initial public offering) and sell your company stock to the public. You’d become rich; you would make millions!” “Millions of dollars, that would be amazing! What would I do then?” the fisherman asked.

The American said, “Then you could retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings and play your guitar with your amigos.” Needless to say, the fisherman was not sold on the idea. All this gives further understanding to some more of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, “Desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Blessings.