The World is Not Enough
I recall the speaker at a seminar I attended several years ago recounting the successes in his life. He was not bragging, rather illustrating the point of his dissertation. He said that goal-setting had always been a part of his life, but that no achievement had ever fulfilled its promise. Accomplishment without real satisfaction. That’s a familiar theme. Everyone has, to some extent, looked forward to an event only to find it wasn’t what they imagined it would be.
A couple of things are at play in the scenario. For one, anything that you can do probably doesn’t seem as significant to you as it may to other people. I heard Bill Russell say that dunking a basketball wasn’t a big deal. Listen up, all you shorties measuring your vertical leap! Sometimes, accomplished people battle self-image and worth to the same or even greater degree than mortals. The greater reason, however, is that we wish for and were made for something more than faded glory.
All our accomplishments are short-lived. Time marches on, and few of us will be remembered by many very long after our passings. Even in our living years, our achievements are continually being eclipsed before our eyes. And personal accolades never bolster our real needs of love, acceptance and belonging. Our families matter, too, and being a big dog doesn’t seem like a big deal when the family is suffering. John D Rockefeller said he’d give ten million dollars for a successful marriage.
There are all kinds of things wrong with making it our goal to be king of the world. Real life tells us that is not enough. The ash heap of history (some recent) illustrates the futility felt by our “stars.” Further, the Bible tells us that there are those with much who have nothing and those with little that are rich. The real meaning of life is spiritual, and, if that need is not met, nothing else matters- here or in eternity. Don’t spend your life in temporal pursuits that matter to few. You were made for more.
“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Those are the words of Jesus as recorded by Mark. Jesus could have said the same about other things, but our soul is the most important possession we have and the only eternal one. God put eternity in our hearts (Solomon), and only eternity with Him will satisfy- then or now. You and I were made for a relationship with God that transcends this earth and its demands. That relationship opens the door to happiness and success in the things that really matter.
Sterl
« Go back