“But, far too many of us confuse the Gospel of Christ with the American Dream. Instead of our highest and most motivating aims being serving God and conforming our lives to his will, we avidly pursue college credentials, lucrative career, large home, nice things, financial security and ease of life. In effect, academic and material possessions become our gods, as well as the measure by which we judge others. No, we don't bow down before them, but as much as these are what primarily motivate and interest us--and are our ultimate concerns in life--they take a dubious place beside the Lord Almighty.”
(Homeschooling or Discipleship? By Wendy Bush)
I’m not a homeschooler anymore, but this quote got me to thinking about our “gods”. The last part of the paragraph says, “but as much as these are what primarily motivate and interest us--and are our ultimate concerns in life--they take a dubious place beside the Lord Almighty.”
What primarily motivates and interests us in our daily lives? What are our ultimate concerns? When I was younger, I would imagine someone making a documentary of my life. Filming the road to my house. Showing the fun stuff I was involved in. Of course, I was always interesting. Probably more so in my imagination than in real life. However, it is an ingenious way to look at your life.
What if someone were to document your life in film, what would we see? I pray it wouldn’t bore us to pieces as we watched you watching television late into the night or sit at the computer day in and day out, or anger us as we watched you yell and belittle your children or your spouse, or hurt us when we saw you never paying attention to the beauty and love around you. What would it show were your primary interests and motivations? Would there be any “ultimate concerns” in life taking their place next to the throne of God? When we watched you spending your time, would we cheer or cry?
