In Operation Desert Storm a few years ago, for camouflage purposes, a division of soldiers had to repaint their Humvees to the color of the surrounding sand. The result was that the Humvees suddenly acquired a distinctly pinkish cast. As you can imagine, this became quite a source of humor for the soldiers. Someone even made a bumper sticker for one of these Humvees. It read, "Ask me about Mary Kay." Human beings are so creative. Particularly when it comes to humor. We can see evidences of that creativity everywhere--even on the bumpers of our cars. Here are some other bumper stickers I think are worth keeping:
"If you lived in your car, you'd be home by now."
I have a question about this one: "Want a taste of religion? Bite a minister."
Here's a good one: "Someday we'll look back on all this and plow into a parked car."
Some of them are philosophical--like this one: "What If the Hokey Pokey IS Really What It's All About?"
And political: "In America, Anyone Can Be President. That's One of the Risks You Take."
Here's one with an attitude: "I don't care what you love, what your other car is, who you brake for or what you'd rather be doing."
Here's a clever one: "Never hit a man with glasses. Hit him with a baseball bat."
And this one: "Honk if you like peace and quiet."
Seen on the back of a biker's jacket: "If you can read this, my wife fell off."
And one I liked so much I made it the title of today's message: "Boldly going . . . nowhere."
Hey, that's how we feel sometimes--boldly going . . . nowhere. As someone once said, "It's important to learn the difference between motion and direction." Just because we're on the go doesn't mean we're going anywhere worthwhile. What's the difference between motion and direction? In a word, purpose. Motion is simply movement. Direction is motion harnessed to a purpose.
It's like one of those absurd cartoons which appeared in New Yorker magazine a few years back. It showed a man running toward the end of the rainbow only to discover that--at the end of the rainbow--was a pot of baked beans. (1) And that's how it is for many people--they spend their lives chasing that elusive pot of gold, only to discover that it's a pot of beans.
In other words, many of us pursue the perks of life instead of the purpose of life. We boldly go somewhere--only to discover it wasn't worth the trip.
Robert Oppenheimer knew about life's perks. Born in 1904 in New York City, Oppenheimer was fascinated from a young age with science. He was admitted to Harvard at 18 and graduated three years later--with honors. He studied in the finest schools in Europe prior to beginning a teaching career at the California Institute of Technology. He was considered one of the top 10 theoretical physicists in the world. And then something happened that would forever change Robert Oppenheimer's life. He was chosen to oversee a team of 4500 men and women charged with the responsibility of developing the first atomic bomb. Two years and two billion dollars later that bomb exploded over a place called Hiroshima.
Robert Oppenheimer had reached the end of the rainbow. Was he delighted? Elated? Not at all. He discovered that the treasure was worse than a pot of baked beans. He had created the ultimate nightmare. When he saw what he had created, he began to examine his values and where his intellect had led him. A short two months later he resigned his position at Los Alamos. He spent most of the remainder of his life trying to undo what he had done. But, of course, it was too late. The world would never be the same after humanity had the bomb.
Contrast Robert Oppenheimer's story with that of Actress Dolores Hart. In 1963, Dolores Hart was a hot commodity in Hollywood. She was beautiful and talented. She had even starred opposite Elvis Presley in his movie King Creole. She seemed destined for success. But Dolores upset everyone's expectations when, at the height of her career, she left show business to become a nun. She said later that she never regretted giving up the glamorous life. In a visit with writer Mary Ann O'Roark, Mother Dolores said, "I looked in the mirror one day and realized that if my sense of worth and fulfilment was based on my looks and youth, it was all short-lived. I sensed there was something more--much more. And I was right." (2)
What a wise decision for someone so young. Dolores Hart had everything we think is worth striving for. She was young and beautiful, famous and wealthy. But she found it was all as worthwhile as a pot of beans. In the midst of her motion, she finally found direction. She exchanged life's perks for its purpose.
We all reach a point in life when we must evaluate what it is we're living for. Most of us reach that place gradually. Some of us, on the other hand, reach that point of evaluating our life quite suddenly--due to a sudden crisis. Rather than a slow evolution--we find ourselves rudely awakened.
When best-selling author John Grisham was in his 20s, he learned that his best friend was dying of cancer. In an interview, Grisham said, "I couldn't believe it." He asked his friend, "What do you do when you realize that you are about to die?" His friend said, "It's real simple. You get things right with God, and you spend as much time with those you love as you can. Then you settle up with everybody else." Then his friend added, "You know, really, you ought to live every day like you have only a few more days to live." (3) He's so right. When you're about to lose all the perks, you realize you should have spent more time on life's purpose.
The apostle Paul understood that. His life evaluation moment was so sudden and significant that he found it necessary to change his name just to express the difference in his life.
Paul, whose given name was Saul, had a very comfy position in life, until he met Jesus. Saul was from a prominent Jewish family. He was a member of the Pharisees, the Jewish ruling council. We can assume that Saul was well respected among the other Jews. He was sincere in his observance of Jewish laws and customs, keeping himself far from any impurity. And he was zealous in his persecution of this new sect called Christians. No doubts kept him up at night. He knew who he was, where he was going, and what he was all about. Until . . . he had an encounter with Jesus.
We read in Acts 9 that Saul was on his way to persecute even more Christians when he was blinded by a bright light, and he heard the voice of Jesus calling to him. A few days later, healed of his blindness, he was brought to the home of a Christian man. As soon as Saul, now known as Paul, regained his sight, he was a changed man. He began telling everyone that Jesus is the Son of God. And this was the end of Paul's comfy life.
We read in Acts 9, verse 23, that, "After a while the Jewish leaders determined to kill him." The Jewish leaders--Paul's old friends and colleagues--his brothers in the faith--had turned against him. And because of his new found faith in Jesus, they were determined to kill him. If Paul's experience was anything like the experience of persecuted Christians around the world, he lost more than just his friends. He probably also lost his family, his job, his home, his reputation. And that was just the beginning. As a Christian preacher, Paul was continually harassed and threatened, beaten and thrown in jail. Read through the book of Philippians sometime and note its joyful tone. Then, remember that Paul wrote this letter from a musty prison cell. This was man who had lost everything--but don't start feeling sorry for him yet. In Philippians 3, Paul writes,
"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ . . ." (NIV)
Notice the word that Paul uses in this passage for "surpassing greatness." In Greek, it is the word hyperech. Hyper means "above" or "transcending." Ech has many meanings, but one of those is "possession." Paul is saying that knowing Jesus is the greatest possession on Earth. He may have lost every other thing, tangible and intangible, that was dear to him. But in their place, he found the one possession that is greater than all others: salvation through Jesus Christ.
Many years ago, Pastor Bob Moorehead wrote a declaration of his faith. Here are some excerpts from it: "I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed . . . I am a disciple of Jesus Christ . . . My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure . . . I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity . . . I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't give up, shut up, let up, or slow up until I've preached up, paid up, prayed up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Jesus Christ. I'm a disciple of Jesus. And I must go "˜til He comes, give "˜til I drop, and preach "˜til all know. And when Jesus comes to get His own, He'll have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear because I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ." (4) What about you? Are you still chasing "preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, popularity?" Are you striving after the perks in life? Or are you striving after its purpose?
In 1960, Adolph Coors III, the powerful head of the Adolph Coors Company, was kidnaped and murdered. His family, and especially his oldest son Adolph IV, were in shock. For years afterwards, the younger Adolph Coors wandered aimlessly through life. He joined on at the Coors Company, only to be assigned the most menial and humiliating jobs. Finally, he worked his way up to a vice president's position. He had the wealth and power that are the birthright of the Coors family. Along the way, Adolph became a Christian. As part of his new life, he wrote a note of forgiveness to his father's killer. Finally, in 1979, he was offered the promotion he had always dreamed of in the company. But suddenly, Adolph Coors IV wasn't sure he wanted it. He began evaluating his life and his priorities in terms of his faith. And suddenly, the perks no longer seemed to have a purpose. So Adolph left behind the job he had tried all his life to obtain. Today, he tours the country telling others of his journey of faith. (5)
There will come a time in every person's life when we must evaluate our purpose in life. Are you here to "grab all the gusto you can get?" If you were to lose everything tomorrow--your job, your friends, your family, your security--would you have anything left? Many people down through history have lost everything for the sake of Christ, and they testify to the fact that he is worth it. Knowing Jesus--knowing his power and his promises and the hope of eternal life with him--is the highest purpose in life. It is the possession that transcends all possessions. I pray that you may discover the "surpassing greatness" of Christ in your own life today.
1. Charlotte Davis Kasl, Ph.D., Finding Joy--101 Ways to Free Your Spirit and Dance With Life (New York: Harper Perennial, 1994), p. 178.
2. "Come Fly With Me" by Mary Ann O'Roark, Guideposts, August 2000, pp. 24 - 27.
3. "The Write Stuff," by Will Norton, Jr., Interview w/John Grisham, . . . talking about staying grounded in the midst of fame, Aspire, November 1995, p. 55.
4. Bob Moorehead, found in A Life of Integrity, edited by Howard Hendricks (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books, 1997), pp. 26-27.
5. Mike Trout. Off the Air (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), pp. 145161.