April 24 - Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing

Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing

“Now faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of all is love.”  1 Corinthians 13:13

Bishop Bevel Jones once said, “The main thing for Christians is to keep the main thing the main thing!" One of life's most tragic mistakes is putting off love in favor of lesser things and losing our chances to say or do what needed to be said or done. We have all been guilty of it.  I have jokingly said, “I bought a book on procrastination…but haven’t got around to reading it.”  More important than a book, we put off things that are far more critical.  Paul shared the same sentiments.

When he spoke to the people at Corinth, he shares the problem has been the same for thousands of years.  We forget, like Bishop Jones said, to “keep the main thing the main thing.” Especially in the area of love.  In 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul writes, “Now faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of all is love.”  In other words, there are many great characteristics to pursue but love is always at the top. 

Paul was saying that the main thing -- loving people -- is the one thing we tend to put off while trying to get all the lesser things done. We live with the theology of the “when.”   "When my career is established ... when my home is bought ... when my name is made ... when my fortune is earned ... when all these activities slow down, then I will make time to love family and friends." And sometimes, if we are not careful, time runs out before we get around to doing the main thing. Ultimately that is how happiness comes, by making certain that love is never misplaced on our list of priorities and that we never wait too late to say it.  

Psychiatrist Erich Fromm contended, "Our ultimate purpose is the search to overcome separateness, without which we will die." Amen! Some years ago, on the 20/20 television program, a man was interviewed who, while alone in the woods, was trapped beneath a fallen tree. While lying there, using a pocket knife he amputated his own leg to escape. Then he crawled a mile to his truck and drove to a nearby farm for help. "As I lay there," he said, "I wasn't afraid of dying. But I kept thinking that I had a wife and children at home who love me, and whom I love. I decided that I would do whatever it took to keep that love alive." Ultimately it was love that kept him living. Ultimately such is the case for us all. Often what keeps us alive amid the trials and traumas of the world is the knowledge that we have people to love and to whom we can go home. When we give love to a spouse, child, friend, neighbor, or church family member, in reality, we give to ourselves the gift of life that is worth having.

Jesus said, "I have come that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." Jesus came that we might be, in a word, happy. Paul, history's greatest interpreter of the teachings of Jesus, identified three sure-fire ways to find the joy Christ was talking about, three indispensables for happiness. One pastor, Michael Brown, shared them:

1.  Find someone to believe in (The “Faith” Dimension). This is the spiritual dimension of happiness. Paul said it this way when writing to his friends in Corinth: "Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts." In short, only life lived in partnership with Christ can ultimately bring joy.

2.  Find something to do (The “Hope” Dimension). No life is as satisfied as the one which is making the world better for others. Perhaps through one's profession or parenting, through working as a volunteer at a hospital or a tutor at school or in one of a thousand other ways this is accomplished. In the final score, our lives find meaning only in as much as we give ourselves away for others.

3.  Find someone to love (The “Love” Dimension). And the rule of thumb has been expressed: The more the merrier. If we become “people lovers,” we inevitably find life that is lovely.

Often we overestimate how easy it is to love. And without loving relationships, happiness is impossible to come by. It’s why Paul devoted the whole of 1 Corinthians 13 to its pursuit.  We assume it is the one area of discipleship we have down pat; but we have so far to go.

So today, let me encourage you to do show simple acts of love.  One author, years ago wrote, “Send flowers when it's not even her birthday. Send thank-you notes for no special reason. Call your out-of-town parents on Wednesday when you don't even get the cheaper weekend rates. Hide love notes where that special someone will find them. Forgive someone who has hurt you. Repair a broken relationship. Take time to listen to someone who is lonely. Give something away for the pure fun of giving. Do something unexpected to make life beautiful for somebody else, and in the process we will find that our lives, too, have become infinitely more.”  In essence, that’s how we “keep the main thing the main thing.” After all is said and done, we want as much done as said.

Terry Risser

Reflection:

1)  Which of the 3-Dimensions do you most need to strengthen?

2)  How can you raise your LQ (Love Quotient) for your closest circle of loved ones today?  Take time to express your love for them.

Consider reading the Word today:

 

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser