0225 FIRST WORLD BELIEF

FIRST WORLD BELIEF

You have probably heard about “first world problems.” They are jokes that poke fun at the irrelevance of perceived privations in an affluent society (“first world”) when there are genuine problems of privation in what are called second or third world countries.

Here are some lines from Weird Al Yankovic in his parody song, “First World Problems:” “I couldn’t order off the breakfast menu, ‘cause I slept in til two.” “I don’t have any bills small enough for the vending machine.” “I’m pretty sure the cookies in this airport lounge ain’t gluten free.” “My house is so big, I can’t get WIFI in the kitchen.” These are the kinds of so-called problems that most of the world would love to have.

I wonder if you and I might similarly have “Christian culture problems.” 

“The font on the jumbotron at church was so hard to read I almost got up and walked out.” “How am I supposed to worship when that song was almost twenty years old?!” “I can only get three Christian stations on my car radio.” “I hate that gender-neutral translation.” “I had to park way over in the west parking lot and walk around to the other side of the building to go into my preferred entrance door.” “I’m so persecuted for my faith! The dude in the cubicle next to mine tells me to turn down the volume on my favorite worship song, just because he couldn’t hear his client talk.” “Can you believe I need a permit just to have an outreach event at the park!” 

And one more. What about the low standards of discipleship that we have come to accept? “Disaster relief? I already give ten dollars a week at church!” “I’m pretty much a Bible expert. A few years ago, I read it all the way through.”

We can get comfortable with our low standards, especially if everyone around us also has low standards, so we think that it is normal.

How about this one? It’s just as funny: “A rich farmer had a really abundant harvest. It was more than he could even fit into his barn. So he tore down his barn and built a bigger one. And there he stored up all his surplus grain. He said to himself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

Or maybe just a bit different: “An American worked hard and saved up well for retirement. When he retired, he said to himself, ‘I can enjoy my life and live in comfort. I have taken care of everything.’”

Only Jesus finished his joke in a serious way. “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

With this story, Jesus confronts the person who lives as if this life is all there is. The man in this parable did not stop to consider, “what is the meaning of life?” or “What is the purpose of life?” He thought that “eat, drink and be merry” was the end game.

“Eat, drink and be merry. I mean, it's all about me. . . . Right? Hello?!?

Believe it or not, life is NOT all about my comfort, or about my wealth, or my accomplishments. In fact, life is not about ME at all! Reaching for all the gusto you can will not do you any good a hundred years from now.

“I had a big harvest so I built a bigger barn. . . . What? Hungry people? Where?”

So, if life is not about ME. Maybe we are here to help others. Is that our purpose on earth, to leave it better for the next generation? That certainly is more helpful than living selfishly. But in a sense, all I am doing is to widen my self-centered circle from ME to WE. 

“I saved up so I could retire in comfort. . . . Huh? What comes after retirement?”

Life is not about ME, and it’s not even about WE. No, Jesus says it all about being rich toward God. It is not about ME or WE. It is about HE.

So I’ll ask you: have you saved for after your retirement?