Life, Love, and Microwave Popcorn

     So today, I was thinking about what Jesus might have meant about some things in Matthew chapter 28 that were to occur at “the end of the age” -- so who wants to watch a movie? I sort of got bored thinking about Bible stuff, so I decided to watch a movie instead. The movie was good, I learned nothing, and I survived a long car trip back from vacation. Ah, the bliss of wasting time…
     While we’re at it, I had also planned to listen to some John Piper sermons that I’d downloaded this past week. Did I? Of course not; I got a couple of new books, a digital camera, and several other distractions for Christmas! Who wants to reflect on spiritual things when they’re on vacation? Someone even asked me when my next post was coming, and I replied that it would be coming as soon as I stopped playing videogames long enough to think.
     On the plus side, I had fun at the beach, I beat twenty levels of my videogame, and I read a couple hundred pages of one of my books (good books mind you, but still fairly unenlightening). Why is it that these things are so much more appealing to me than spending time with God, who made all these things? Why did I enjoy the beach and the water (really cold water!) more than I enjoyed the One who thought to make those things? Surely the Creator is vastly greater than the creation!
     I think it’s because I have an attention deficit. Yep; my attention budget is pretty small, and it only takes a few moments before it’s overdrawn. In fact, I think we live in a distracted world. We’re all looking for a quick fix, easy satisfaction, and instant gratification. Remember the burger and the steak from the last post? Did I mention that the burgers were precooked patties that took about thirty seconds to order, while the steaks took nearly an hour to acquire? That’s why the burgers looked so great; ‘cause they were right there in front of me, and they were ready to be eaten at a moment’s notice! I didn’t have to wait, and I didn’t have to work; it was quick and easy, so I wanted it.
     If there are two things I hate, they’re hard work and waiting. Hard work is just too hard, and it’s always too much work. Waiting takes too long. Why wait, when you can have it now? Why work hard when you can get by more easily? These are the things commercials are made of. This is what our society preys on, because it’s something we all have inside. We have such an aversion to waiting and working that we’re selling our souls to the demon called convenience.
     I want it now, and I don’t want to wait for it. How often is that your attitude when you address God? I don’t want to wait for the situation to pan out; I don’t want to struggle, and I don’t want to suffer. I want writing on the wall, and I want it to be simple instructions that are fun to follow. None of this struggling towards a goal or running the race with perseverance stuff; I prefer my canned spirituality. It’s convenient!
     We’ve established in the last post that anyone who looks honestly at Christ and at the world would choose Christ. The thing that plagues us, though, is that sometimes we just don’t feel like it’s worth it to choose Christ. The world is so easy. It requires so little of us, and it gives so much. Christ? He requires everything -- your life, your love, and your commitment for eternity. Is it worth it?
     Second Kings chapter 5 tells us of a military commander called Naaman. This guy had everything -- power, money, and even favor with God! But this guy also had a problem. Naaman was a leper; he had a disease that was eating his body. Leprosy is not a fun thing to have; it’s painful, and it’s disgusting. Obviously, Naaman wanted to get rid of his leprosy, so he eventually went to the prophet Elisha to try to find healing. Elisha told Naaman exactly how to be cured of his disease: wash in the Jordan River seven times.
     There are two important things to notice here: one, that the Jordan river is a really nasty river, and nobody in their right mind would want to wash themselves in it, and two, that Naaman had to do it seven times to be completely healed. Why couldn’t he just wash once, and maybe do it in a nice spa or something? The reason is simple. Naaman needed to humble himself, and he needed to sacrifice for his cure. He had expected Elisha to do some kind of prophet thing, wave his hands around, and cure the disease, and Naaman would give him some gifts -- you know, the quick, easy way! Elisha didn’t do that; instead, he offered a solution that was difficult and unappealing -- and not only did Naaman have to get over the nastiness of the Jordan River (and his own pride) once, but he had to do it seven times!
     That’s kind of like us, isn’t it? When we take our disease, our sins, and go to God, we expect them to just vanish and we’ll just be happy again. That’s not quite how it works, though. There’s something deeper that has to happen if we want to rid ourselves of our disease. We have to repent. We have to humble ourselves, we have to work, and we have to keep waiting for the promised reward.
     So let’s look at our two options again: convenient, temporary pleasure, or eternal, incomparable joy that is difficult to attain. The burger, and the steak. The world, and Christ.
     Oh, one other thing. The convenient things kill you. That’s right; convenience will kill you, literally and spiritually. People love microwaves because they’re convenient; who knew that you can get cancer any number of ways from microwaving stuff? People love fast food because there’s a list of things you can get for a dollar in less than a minute; how often do you honestly care that it’ll make you fat and kill your heart? People love sin because, let’s face it, it pays off; but we have to see that it’s killing our souls.
     Naaman eventually got over his pride, and he did wash himself seven times in the Jordan River. His skin was restored to complete health. Naaman discovered that, although the process was inconvenient, the end result was everything he had hoped. So, as I like to do, I’ll leave you with a question to ponder as you live your life. Whatever you may be doing, and whatever it is that you desire, you must ask yourself: Is it worth it?