Whatever
A man dying in the desert stumbles over a sand
dune. He is greeted by a tie salesman. The dehydrated man begs for water but
the salesman only has ties. In angry frustration, the weakened man stumbles on.
Within an hour he reaches an isolated restaurant in the middle of the desert.
At first he thinks it is a mirage, but as he draws closer he knows it is real.
He is ecstatic! With renewed energy he picks himself up and runs for the door.
He is stopped at the entrance by security who denies him entry. Can you guess
why? “No Tie, No Service.”
What in our life today is relevant for the
future? Money, job, education, food and a whole host of answers could be
plugged in. For our purposes, when thinking of relevancy, think of necessity. Is knowing what is relevant easy?
In college, we study...“whatever” so we can
become a...“whatever.” Then, as life happens, we may do everything
but...“whatever.” Easy access to understanding relevancy is often blocked by
ignorance of the future. If we could know the future for certain, then knowing
what is relevant becomes easier. Not having that certainty, oftentimes what we
thought was an obviously easy answer of relevancy fooled us. Consequently, what
we think today to be an obviously easy answer of relevancy might also fool us –
unless we focus only on what we know for certain concerning what the future
holds.
Thinking he knows the future, a bored High
School student wonders, "Why do I need to take... “whatever?”
I'll never use it!" Know what? Most likely, he's half right. He never will
use “it.” Think, when was the last time a policeman
pulled you over for not knowing the chemical composition of… “whatever.”
And yet, we adults understand the importance for
the future of such courses is not always the course itself, but rather the
discipline of learning, the exercising of our intellect, and the conquering of
the difficult. We understand that the college of tomorrow is shaped by the high
school classes of today. We understand that relevancy is often found in what
happens to us when studying, not in what we are studying. That is what is truly
relevant. That is why, academically, we push are children, and rightfully so.
Therefore, relevancy is inherently individualistic, personal, and internal.
Do we understand what is eternally relevant? Are
we concentrating on what we know will come in the future? There is a story of
relevancy found in Luke 10:38-42 - “Now as they were traveling along, He
entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. [39]
She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to
His word. [40] But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she
came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that
my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’
[41] But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried
and bothered about so many things; [42] but only one thing is necessary, for
Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’”
In the movie, “City Slickers,” the lone real
cowboy, Curley, advised his new found city slicker friend that in life only one
thing is necessary. This philosophical cowboy expounded by saying that the one
thing differed for each person. He is right, there is only thing. He is wrong
that it differs for everyone. Jesus said there is only one thing also. Do we
know what is the one thing that is necessary?
Without Jesus, we are all dying, wandering in
the desert, needing the water of life. He says, “If any man is thirsty, let him
come to Me and drink” (John
Perry D. Hall