As we wrap up 2020, it’s clear that half of America is exhilarated over this year’s electoral results. The other half is anything but. One side is cheering. The other side is jeering. One side will watch with eager anticipation for what Washington will now do. The other side is eager to do all it can to block and disrupt. Four years ago, these same groups were in reverse roles.
So has anything changed? Seriously? I mean, if you look over the long haul, what is improving? More importantly, will anything you do individually have a scintilla of direct impact on what goes on in Washington? Does it feel like we are stuck in the proverbial one step forward and two steps back? Or perhaps it’s just another edition of the movie Ground Hog Day.
I think there’s a reason for this reality and it’s because of a misplaced focus.
The city where you and I can make the absolute least difference is Washington. However, the place we can make the most difference is our community. Yet, we are lured into placing all of our focus in the place we can have the least impact. Meanwhile, the place you can have the most impact gets your least attention.
For over a decade, when I was active in and obsessed with politics, this was my continuous challenge to those I led:
Don’t put all your energies into something that will, in the long run, give you zero return. Rather, put your energies and focus into that which you can actually influence and make a difference. In politics, for the vast majority, that would be your city, county or even state.
I seldom had anyone disagree with this concept. But here’s the problem. It’s easy to understand but hard to do. Why? Because Washington seems glamorous, and we reason that it’s for all the marbles. We see little glitz with city or county politics. Honestly though, your local elected officials likely impact your day to day life more than your congressman, senator, or POTUS will ever do.
So am I once again a political junkie? No. But if the above makes sense, then maybe I have your attention for an even greater truth.
A Greater Truth
If you’re a follower of Jesus, our enemy is someone who comes to steal, kill and destroy. He’s a master deceiver. He knows just how to distract us from those we can impact, and instead he lures us to focus on that which we cannot impact, at least not much, and certainly not for the long term, or eternity.
So who are those you and I can impact? For starters, those closest to us: our family, friends and neighbors. The little old lady down the street. The fatherless, widows, refugees, and such. Or that homeless person who is struggling to find food or stay warm in freezing temps.
That’s the story of the Good Samaritan. He was alert and aware of the needs directly in front of him. And when he saw them, he refused to walk on by, unlike the priest and Levite (the religious community) who ignored the hurting man in the ditch.
If you want your life to make a difference in 2021, and into eternity, then it might require you to shift your focus; reprioritize your energies; and elevate permanence over fleeting.
The famous Jim Elliot, who gave his life in the jungles of Ecuador pursuing the eternal, left us with the following quote that is known around the world:
”He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
I’ve always wanted my life to count for something. I assume you do to. But for years, my “counting for something” was measured by stuff, prestige, short term victories, business success, political campaigns, and other such objectives. Honestly some of them were really good things. But they were all temporal.
But as I’ve grown older, and spent more time contemplating what really matters, the truth of Elliot’s quote above grips me. And God has used a myriad of realities in my life to capture my attention. The following verses seem to encapsulate what Elliot was saying:
“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.” 1 Corinthians 3:11-15
So, if you feel like your stuck on that old hamster wheel, where you’re going all out, deep into whatever you’re doing, but you just never feel like it’s making a difference, maybe it’s time to reevaluate.
The new year is here and it’s a great time to be introspective. Be honest with yourself. If 2021 is your final year on this globe, how do you want to spend it? Do you want to commit your final energies, passion, and focus on “wood, hay, and straw” or “gold, silver and jewels?”
Only you can answer that question. And only God, not me, can direct you to the right answer and what it is that is “wood, hay and straw” in your life. Your “gold, silver and jewels” may not be similar to mine at all.
But if you’re a Christ follower, whatever your mission is, it will be eternal. Anything less will never satisfy. Or last.
So if you’re on the hamster wheel, I hope you’ll step off. The enemy will do his best to lure you back on, but Go Deep into God’s Word to find the antidote to the enemy’s lies and deception.
So when you breathe your final breath, are you ready for a real “happily ever after” experience ? It can be when your life is invested in the eternal.
”What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” Matthew 16:26
