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I can’t say I’m a fan of beer commercials, but I do find them interesting. They serve as a mirror of popular culture. By looking at beer commercials we can gain insights about who we are as a society. About ten years ago Keystone Beer launched a series of popular commercials. Each ad started with the most Joe Average-looking guy imaginable caught in the midst of some dreary, everyday situation. In one, he is home alone in his dumpy little apartment, contemplating which flavorless meal to microwave for his solitary dinner. Then this dismal guy starts wondering out loud, "Wouldn't it be great ... " if the gorgeous woman next door would ring his doorbell; and wouldn't it be great if she said she'd cooked too many steaks and wouldn't he like to join her for one; and wouldn't it be great if she offered him a Keystone Beer to perfect this incredibly wishful scenario? These ads were successful because they tapped into that little streak of silly optimism that glints in even the most negative of eyes. Why do people buy lottery tickets or enter crazy contests and raffles? Because somehow we can't help thinking, "Wouldn't it be great ... if this time I won!" Several years ago while living in Soldotna I fell victim to the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes. The big, bold print on the envelope proclaimed, "David Beckett...You are one of 10 finalists." I thought, "Whoa, this is pretty cool! I think I will send it in." So I went to the post office to mail my entry form. I couldn't believe it! I saw two other people with the same envelope as mine. Now you tell me. What are the odds that three of the 10 finalists in the whole country are from Soldotna, Alaska? Wouldn't it be great if I won a million dollars? Well, maybe it wouldn't be so great. Not everyone has the same idea of a great time. One person's wish may be another's nightmare. Take, for example, the story of three men who were sailing together in the Pacific Ocean. Their vessel was wrecked and they found themselves on an island. They had plenty of food, but their existence was in every way different from what their lives had been in the past. The men were walking by the seashore one day after they had been there for some months and found an ancient lantern. One man picked it up. As he began to rub it and clean it, a genie popped out and said, "Well, since you have been good enough to release me, I will give each of you one wish." The first man said, "Oh, that's perfectly marvelous. I'm a cattleman from Wyoming and I wish I were back on my ranch." Poof! He was back on his ranch. The second man said, "Well, I'm a stockbroker from New York, and I wish that I were back in Manhattan." Poof! He was back in Manhattan with his papers, his telephones, his clients and his computers. The third fellow was somewhat more relaxed about life and actually had rather enjoyed life there on the island. He said, "Well, I am quite happy here. I just wish my two friends were back." Poof! Poof! Everybody's idea of a "great time" isn't the same! So is it true? Are many Americans sitting around wishing, "Now wouldn't it be great ...if I won the lottery...if I had my dream house...if I was famous...." As Christians...as the people of God...what if instead of wishing for money or fame or success or more "things," we could just as earnestly wish with all our hearts and souls and minds and strength that we could love the Lord our God and love our neighbor as ourselves? 1. "Wouldn't it be great ... if we could love the Lord our God with all our heart?" For most of us, loving God with our hearts, with our emotions, our feelings, was the natural starting point of our faith. But too many of us dismiss the innocence of these feelings over time -- as though they represent a kind of spiritual "puppy love." We convince ourselves that as our faith "matures," the feelings simply cool down. But an emotion-filled faith -- a faith that cries and laughs, sings and moans -- isn't the sign of an immature love. Emotional outbursts are the life-signs of a vital faith -- a heartfelt piety, a genuine love. It is okay to let your emotions show during worship. It is okay to clap your hands while singing praise to God. It is okay to shed a tear during prayers of thanksgiving. A story is told of an easterner who walked into a western saloon. He was amazed to find a dog sitting at a table playing cards with three men. He asked the men, "Can that dog really play cards?" One of the men answered, "Yeah, but he ain't much of a player. Whenever he gets a good hand he wags his tail." When it comes to our feelings about our Creator, our Savior, our Lord, we need to let our tails wag a bit more freely. 2. "Wouldn't it be great ... if we could love the Lord our God with all our soul?" When we love God with all our soul, we succeed in integrating our faith into all of our being. We cannot compartmentalize our "religious life" from the rest of our life if the love of the Lord has entered deeply into our soul. A soul sensitized by Jesus' own compassion and sacrifice can never again see the world as a "secular" place. To love with all our soul forces us out of our own neighborhood so that we may see with Christ's eyes the hope-starved inhabitants of our worst city slums. To love with all our soul forces us out of our particular race or gender, so that we experience the injustice of oppression. To love with all our soul forces us out of our species -- so that we feel the groaning of the earth, the rivers, the skies, the creatures of God's creation as they all struggle against the pollution, abuse and exploitation humanity has heaped upon them. 3. "Wouldn't it be great ... if we could love the Lord our God with all our mind?" For years we have heard the slogan of the Black College Fund, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." When it comes to loving God with our minds are we being wasteful? The human mind is a gift from God, and we have a responsibility to use it! Napoleon often told the story of an old soldier with one arm dressed in full uniform. On his uniform he proudly displayed the Legion of Honor medal. Napoleon asked him, "Where did you lose your arm?" "At Austerlitz, sire." "And for that you received the Legion of Honor?" "Yes, sire. It is but a small token to pay for the decoration." The emperor said, "You must be the kind of man who regrets that he did not lose both arms for his country." The one-armed man asked, "What then would have been my reward?" Napoleon replied, "I would have awarded you a double Legion of Honor." With that, the old man drew his sword and immediately cut off his other arm. This story was believed to be true and was circulated for years...that is until one day someone used his God-given gift of a mind and asked, "How can a one-armed man cut off his other arm?" Yes, a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Even more terrible is not to use it to love the Lord our God. 4. "Wouldn't it be great ... if we could love the Lord our God with all our strength?" In our increasingly sedentary, push-button world of work, we tend not to take the body too seriously. But have you ever thought about this: God thought our bodies important enough to come to us in a physical body. Surely this indicates that our bodies also bear witness to God's love. If we would love the Lord with all our strength, we must be purposeful about tuning and toning our bodies. Issues of diet and health and fitness are not just "good for you" -- they are good for demonstrating God's presence in your life. So next time you work out at the gym, or run a few miles, or eat your fresh fruits and vegetables, remember this: You are loving God! The opposite is true also. When we abuse our bodies -- through an unhealthy diet; indulging in drugs, alcohol and tobacco; immoral, casual sex; or couch-potato laziness we are intentionally limiting and depleting the strength we have to offer Christ. Writer Michael Davis of the Baltimore Jewish Times teaches religious education at his Reformed synagogue and has witnessed with sadness the level of indifference religious education takes in the lives of his students and their parents. Contrasting the intensive, rigorous scrutiny and concern these parents direct towards their children's secular education, Davis observes that "... many are seemingly incapable of caring about what happens on Sunday. They roll up to the temple, drop off their kids -- and expect that, when they pick them up two and a half hours later, they'll have been transformed into Jews. I call this 'Dry Clean Judaism.'" Davis goes on to remind these parents and all his readers that religious life cannot be confined to a few hours every weekend. "Judaism," he concludes, "is a way of life, a 24 hour, seven-day-a-week blueprint to approach and respond to life." Isn't it kind of the same with us? Don't we fall to the temptation to divide our lives into little compartments? This is my social life. This is my family life. This is my work life. This is my religious life. Just because the rest of the world lives this way doesn't mean that you and I need to also. We decide how we live each and every moment of every day. Wouldn't it be great if we could love the Lord our God with all our hearts, our souls, our minds and our strength! When God is loved by us with our whole heart and our whole spirit then ... our neighbor and every thing that ought to be loved is loved rightly. The story is told of an old pilgrim making his way to the Himalayan Mts. in the bitter cold of winter. An innkeeper said to him, "How will you ever get there in this kind of weather, my good man?" The old man answered cheerfully, "My heart got there first, so it’s easy for the rest of me to follow." Where is your heart? When we give our lives to Jesus…when we know our heart is centered in God’s love, it isn’t all that hard for the rest of us to follow. Wouldn’t it be great if this week, we all could love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength? |
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08.10.03 - Wouldn't It Be Great!?! (Mark 12:28-34)
