Chasing Smoke

My oldest daughter has, for the last few weeks, been participating in a basketball league called Upwards Basketball. The whole Upwards program is geared for building kids up and teaching them to work together as a team, and to enjoy playing sports as a way to glorify God. One of the things they do for the kids is at the beginning, which is the highlight of most kids day, is they get to run through a tunnel filled with smoke as the announcer calls out their name. Within minutes though, the smoke has cleared and it's time to play the game. The kids are there to play the game, not to chase the smoke. God has been teaching me much of the same lesson. Once again, I am in a barrage of very specific messages that I am hearing from multiple places saying roughly the same thing-- stop chasing smoke.

The last couple weeks, I have been studying Ecclesiastes, and though I didn't do it intentionally, it is really complementing the book I am reading. I wonder if the author, John Ortberg, was reading Ecclesiastes while writing, When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box. The major premise of the book is our life is short, make it count for things which matter to God. Solomon says the same thing. He begins his book by saying, "'Vanity of vanities,' says the Preacher, 'Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.'" What I have learned in this reading of Ecclesiastes is that the word "vanity" is not just saying things are meaningless, but the word can be translated as "smoke" or "vapor." He is not necessarily saying that life is a waste, but rather, don't waste your life on things that blow away like smoke. Solomon goes on to explain that as he has tried everything the world has to offer, it all has one theme in common. He uses this phrase to describe life's pursuits over and over again, "striving after wind." It's all chasing smoke.

As a minister, I have participated in a large number of funerals over the last couple of decades. And after I am done, I always find myself in a state of healthy contemplation. One of our saints was promoted to the Lord's presence this week. So, once again I am thinking. Listen to how Peterson renders what Solomon says, "You learn more at a funeral than at a feast— After all, that's where we'll end up. We might discover something from it. Crying is better than laughing. It blotches the face, but it scours the heart. " (Ecc.7:2-3) Some funerals are filled with wailing and tears, especially when the young perish. Others, there is a spirit of celebration because a righteous life has finished well having invested in the lives of other people. They weren't chasing smoke. They left a spiritual legacy that will be carried on in honor of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ortberg describes a familiar illustration in how to measure what is worth our lives with tennis balls and sand in a jar. The tennis balls are what counts: God, People, Calling, & Joy. The sand is just filler- all the other stuff we spend our time on. So, we must put the tennis balls in first, because once the jar is full of sand, the tennis balls won't fit. And once the jar is full, it's over.

That is how I want to finish. When I leave this earthen vessel, I want people to be able to say that "I am closer in my relationship to the Lord because of this man." I don't want to chase smoke. We all have the same number of hours in a day, if we spend them on things that will blow away in the wind (i.e. possessions, status, etc.), we will have wasted our lives, because it all stays here. I want to put the tennis balls in the jar first. I have to ask myself, when I give myself to something, does it REALLY matter in the grand scheme of things. There is a temptation to believe that we can always start tomorrow, but we are never promised tomorrow. So, let's do it today!