Sacred-G

Before reading this devotion, I would recommend that you read Ecclesiastes 1-2.

Verse of the week:

"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep."

Ecclesiastes 5:10-12 (NIV)

Last week's episode of Rob and Big give me something to talk about again (See last week's devotional). This time around, Rob starts the episode by having a bad showing at a skating session. Numerous times, Rob falls off his board and is obviously angry that what is normally easy for him, seems impossible at the moment. Rob then tells Big, "I feel like everything's in chaos. Like, my whole life is in chaos." Rob then begins his search for something to give him some stability in life.

So, Rob gets excited about "sacred geometry" which is basically posters of geometric designs (they reminded me of the magic eye puzzles of 15 years ago) that you're supposed to use for good luck. Rob puts a poster under his bed mattress and encourages Big to give it a try. Big hesitates, but is usually willing to go along with what Rob's newest idea is...even so, Big remains skeptical, doubting that using it will bring any luck. The duo then visit a street shaman that specializes in "sacred-G, " which gets Rob more excited about using the new-found luck. The duo then buys $1,160 worth of lottery tickets. After losing most of this money, Rob looks for other ways to show the power of "sacred G." So, Rob creates a skateboard using a "sacred G" design for the bottom of the board. After having a good skating session, Rob lands a trick he's never done before and proclaims that the "sacred G" helped him do it.

So, the moral of the story... what do you trust? Putting your trust in your accomplishments (like Rob with his ability to perform on a skateboard) will cause you to be frustrated sooner or later. So, how do you react when things are difficult...especially when they shouldn't be. The question you have to ask yourself is what are you after? What motivates you- fame, glory, money? Who do you blame when your goals seem to slip away? Who do you praise when you achieve something?

Rob shows us today how easy it is to forget about serving others and look to better ourselves. And, when we do that, we sometimes take extreme measures to help us get to where we want to be. Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes, reminds himself and readers numerous times that "everything under the sun is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." This is a great piece of advice- if you spend your life chasing after the things of this world, you'll waste your time and be frustrated. Solomon, who many believe to have been the richest man in history, found only emptiness in his accomplishments and possessions, they never seemed to be enough. It was only when he set his mind on God that he felt truly fulfilled.

Set your mind on God and serving God's people and not on the things of this world so that you'll never be frustrated or lack satisfaction from your accomplishments...after all, there is nothing we can do to hold on to the things of this life... Go, serve! Or, as Rob and Big would say, "Do work!"