At Holy Communion Sunday we were singing the Old Rugged Cross when I had an revelation. Here are the first verse and chorus:
On a hill far away, stood an old rugged Cross
The emblem of suff’ring and shame
And I love that old Cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain
I’ll cherish the old rugged Cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged Cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
Four decades ago I struggled mightily to win tennis trophies. I practiced. I worked out. I took lessons. I drove all over North Carolina in search for more and more hardware. Both Vicki and I won a bunch of trophies.
When we moved to College Station I tossed all those trophies into garbage cans. Those trophies filled three 64-gallon trash cans.
When we sang that popular Christian Hymn, I realized how much time, effort, blood, sweat and tears I had spent in a foolish quest for recognition. The joy of playing a game turned into an obsessive search for earthly glory.
Do not store up treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but store up treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal, For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also. Matthew 6:19-20
When we order of our priorities–God first; family second; work third; recreation forth–we will be content and produce fruit that will last.
This Post Has 3 Comments
John Ingram Walker, MD
18 Nov 2019Correct priorities–God, family, work, recreation
Richard H Krull
18 Nov 2019How familiar. Car show trophies, harvested animal trophies and the like. All worthless when it comes down to it. We did however gain numerous Christian friends through our efforts and we each gained a spouse after losing ours. Getting into our Father’s house overshadows that trivia as we live out what He’s granted us at this point. Why was it not the top priority all along?
John Ingram Walker, MD
19 Nov 2019There is absolutely nothing wrong with hobbies or pursuits if our priorities are in order. My problem resulted from an obsession with winning skewing my priorities. In addition, if I had played tennis in moderation I would have had a more balanced life.
Comments are closed.