Archive for July, 2010
The Sum of Our Existence
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Every day we get up, go to work, and strive to accomplish the great American dream of home ownership. In most households both the husband and wife work to provide for themselves and their children. A great deal of our life energy is spent on this endeavor. We plan for our future, making sure there is enough of our investment funds available to provide for housing that is comparable to what we could afford in our most productive years.
We not only desire the home of our dreams, but that dream home of necessity has to be decorated like a Southern Living home. This of course requires a greater zeal and effort on our part to earn enough money to pay for our extravagant lifestyle. Our dream home must be furnished with fine furniture, custom kitchen cabinets with granite tops, and entertainment centers with high definition television and theater surround sound. Only hardwood floors, ceramic bathroom floors, and high-end carpeting are good enough for us.
Recently, I went to Nashville to help flood victims get their lives back together again. I took my eight year old grandson along with me so that he too could experience the joy of helping others. It struck me as I drove through several subdivisions which had been submerged under several feet of water that everything those homeowners had considered an integral part of their American dream was now only a pile of trash in the front yard. House after house had huge piles of trash stacked next to the road. These piles represented many years of toiling and dreaming the American dream. Now, nothing but a trash heap.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with building and owning a home. In fact, without people dreaming of home ownership, I would have to find another line of work. What I am trying to say is that maybe we should devote more of our time and energies on the things that really matter. The things that will last a lifetime and beyond. Our relationship with God, our family, and our friends are all more important in the long run. “When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 2:11