TRIVIAL PURSUITS
by Pastor
Rick Sams
I was coming to the dramatic conclusion of my sermon. All
eyes were riveted on me. A few eyes were closed, in prayer I�m sure, pondering
the eternal truths I was proclaiming or…possibly checking the insides of their
eyelids for holes.
Regardless, I exclaimed on: "I am carrying two cards
in my wallet. First a Scripture memory card to remind me of important and
eternal things. The other card (I pulled it out of my back pocket with much
flair). Does anyone know what this card is?"
"An AARP* card! came
the shout from the congregation. After I�d asked the ushers to remove this
person and the laughter died down, I proceeded…"I don�t even know what an AARP
card is. (OK, I know).
The other card I was referring to was a
"Trivial Pursuit game card. I love to play this game. My wife kills at it.
She plays, not from the "Genus edition, but the "Genius edition. I
always position myself to be on her team. Others allow this because I balance
(spelled "negate") her out.
My point was this: we have the choice each
day, each moment of each day, to focus on what is truly important and eternal or
the trivial pursuits. Anything that reminds us we are making these choices
constantly does us a favor. These two cards remind me.
Actually an AARP
card could remind us too, that life is zooming by, so don�t waste it. Even if I
don�t like to admit I could be a member, I could be.
But none of us are
guaranteed one more day. The tragic accident that rocked our community two weeks
ago involving 15 year old Alison Draves reminds us that no one can count on one
more day, not even the youngest of us. Life is fragile. Life is precious.
How are you investing your time and life?
To the Draves family
and the other families involved our hearts go out; our prayers go up. One of the
vivid illustrations of exactly what I�m talking about is both of the two primary
families involved, the Draves and Hampus, assured me they are praying for the
OTHER family. That�s a powerful and eternal thing.
It�s very easy just to
dwell on the trivial and temporary, so the great apostle Paul reminds us to
"…set your hearts on things above…set your minds on this above, not on earthly
things… (Colossians 3:1-2).
The psalmist said: "Teach us to number
our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). The word
"number in this verse comes from a word in Hebrew that was found in
ancient accounting documents. It meant to "take inventory, account for.
God through the psalmist is challenging all people of all time to take an
inventory of how we�re investing our time, our life, in trivial pursuits or
things that really matter?
(*American Association of Retired
People)