What Matters Most
I grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s in the rural Midwest. If you look at a map of Appalachia, our property line and the Appalachian border are indistinguishable. We didn’t live in a city or even a town, so we found lots of interesting things to entertain ourselves.
It still makes me chuckle a little when people talk about hanging out with their neighborhood friends or spending time at their friends’ houses in the summer or after school because we didn’t have a neighborhood or neighbors or friends’ houses we could just pop over to. Instead, we had a yard, a few garages, the woods, and a driveway you could kill yourself on if you were riding a bike or a sled.
I was young, allegedly between 2-3, the day my dad was painting his school bus turned race car hauler. To this day, I’m still not clear on where my mom had disappeared for the day, but the one fact that has been made abundantly clear over the last 43 years is that my dad was in charge of me.
While I’ve never been afforded a detailed explanation of how this happened, what I know for a fact is that my dad ended up giving me the paint and a paintbrush and setting me free to do my painting magic on the bus.
While I can’t say how incredibly beautiful my masterpiece was, I do know this–it took him a good 30 years to allow me to paint anything ever again.
Toward the end of the day, we were faced with a dilemma: how was my dad going to get me and my clothes clean before my mom returned home to the disaster?
Assessing the situation, my dad made the only logical decision in this situation–destroy the evidence. Somehow, he managed to get the paint off of me, but he promptly burnt my clothes before my mom made it home to see the damage.
I’m not sure how many years passed before we all confessed to my mom, but I can tell you we still laugh about “that time Dad burnt my clothes” today.
I’m sure some parenting experts would disagree with how my dad handled this situation, but I’m also confident we had fun, the bus got painted, and no one got hurt. In the grand scheme of things, my dad understood what mattered most–what was important and what wasn’t important. He knew the clothes I was wearing were likely hand-me-downs from my older brother, that the paint would wash off, and that it wasn’t going to hurt anything to hand me a brush and some paint.
I know this might seem like a funny illustration, but how much different would the world look if we took more time to focus on what matters most instead of getting caught up in the details, the drama, and the dogma that distracts us too often?
Jesus Focused on What Matters Most
After Jesus spent the entire night in prayer, he called his disciples to him and named his 12 apostles, and then they descended from the hillside to level ground where a multitude of disciples as well as large crowds from Tyre and Sidon waited to hear Jesus teach and to be healed from their illness. This crowd would have included both Jews and Gentiles, as the territories of Tyre and Sidon were primarily Gentile territories. Luke explains how everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, reached out to touch Jesus to be healed because power was coming from him and healing them all.
This had to be such a cool scene–Jesus with his newly appointed disciples, surrounded by both Jews and Gentiles, everyone reaching out to get even the slightest touch of Christ. Then, though, Jesus manages to quiet the multitude and speak to their hearts. I can’t help but think this was a lofty task. Here’s Jesus with his newly appointed apostles, but, too, there’s this giant crowd of Jewish disciples, and then, mixed in with this crowd, is a group of Gentiles.
Somehow, Jesus has to find common ground between all of these people, and he does that by focusing on the things that matter most:
Seek Spiritual Growth and Humility, not Spiritual Arrogance:
And looking toward His disciples, He began speaking: “Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are you who are poor [in spirit, those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for the kingdom of God is yours [both now and forever]. Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are you who hunger now [for righteousness, actively seeking right standing with God], for you will be [completely] satisfied. Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are you who weep now [over your sins and repent], for you will laugh [when the burden of sin is lifted]. Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God’s goodness] are you when people hate you, and exclude you [from their fellowship], and insult you, and scorn your name as evil because of [your association with] the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for your reward in heaven is great [absolutely inexhaustible]; for their fathers used to treat the prophets in the same way. Luke 6: 20-22 AMP
Jesus looks at his disciples and tells them:
You’ll be blessed when you aren’t spiritually arrogant, but spiritually humble.
You’ll be satisfied when you seek righteousness.
Your sins will be forgiven and your burden lifted when you repent.
You’ll be courageous and spiritually alive when people alienate you and exclude you because of your association with me–your reward will be in heaven.
Don’t Seek the World’s Definition of Success
But woe (judgment is coming) to you who are rich [and place your faith in possessions while remaining spiritually impoverished], for you are [already] receiving your comfort in full [and there is nothing left to be awarded to you]. Woe to you who are well-fed (gorged, satiated) now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now [enjoying a life of self-indulgence], for you will mourn and weep [and deeply long for God]. Woe to you when all the people speak well of you and praise you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way. Luke 6:24-26 AMP
Then, Jesus looks at them and reminds them:
Wealth only gives you comfort on earth
Be wary of being content and satisfied with what you have and what you know on earth.
Don’t live a life of self-indulgence without God.
Be cautious of seeking the approval of others.
Love your Enemies
“But I say to you who hear [Me and pay attention to My words]: Love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, [make it a practice to] do good to those who hate you, bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one also [simply ignore insignificant insults or losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity]. Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Luke 6:27-29 AMP
After that, Jesus encourages these Jews and Gentiles to:
Love their enemies.
Do good to those who hate them.
Bless and show kindness to those who curse them.
Pray for those who mistreat them.
Don’t retaliate.
Give Graciously
Give to everyone who asks of you. Whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you [only] love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend [money] to those from whom you expect to receive [it back], what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to receive back the same amount. But love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; for your reward will be great (rich, abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High; because He Himself is kind and gracious and good to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) just as your [heavenly] Father is merciful. Luke 6:30-36 AMP
Then, Jesus goes a step further and tells them:
Give to everyone who asks.
Don’t try to get back what is taken from you.
Treat others how you want to be treated.
Don’t lend money and expect to get it back.d
Do good and expect nothing in return.
Be kind, gracious, and good to the ungrateful and wicked.
Be merciful.
Don’t Judge and Condemn, but Pardon
“Do not judge [others self-righteously], and you will not be judged; do not condemn [others when you are guilty and unrepentant], and you will not be condemned [for your hypocrisy]; pardon [others when they truly repent and change], and you will be pardoned [when you truly repent and change]. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.” Luke 6: 37-38 AMP
And, finally, he tells them:
Don’t judge.
Don’t condemn.
Pardon others.
Give.
A Shift In Our Focus
I’ve heard countless sermons on the Beatitudes, and if you grew up in the church or have been in the church for a hot minute, you probably know that’s what the first part of this scripture is called, and you, too, have probably heard a myriad of sermons and lessons on them.
I was today years old when I read the context behind them and understood the scene that was playing out in front of Jesus as he taught them. This was a pivotal moment in Jesus’s ministry–the choosing of the apostles, but it was also important for the rest of this crowd which was full of both Jews and Gentiles. Jesus could have easily taken that moment to give that mixed crowd and his new apostles a history lesson, a discussion of the law, a list of rules and regulations, etc… but he didn’t do that because he understood what mattered most.
He doesn’t talk to them about religion, laws, or culture at all. Instead, he tells them to:
Be spiritually humble.
Don’t chase worldly success.
Love your enemies.
Give graciously.
Pardon instead of judging and condemning.
I was struck speechless a few weeks ago when I was studying Christ’s words to the Pharisees: “I have come to save a life, but you have come to find a life to destroy.” I felt that same humility and awe today as I was reading and studying these words of Christ because this is what our world should be like.
This is what matters most.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the wrong things:
Lavishness.
Appearances.
Rules.
Regulations.
Performance.
Statistics.
Perception.
Reputation.
I can’t help but wonder what might happen and how things might change if we took what Jesus said here to heart and focused on these five things above all else.
I’d love to see a return to these principles in our lives:
In our churches
In our families
In our relationships
In our workplaces
In our volunteer work
In our service
In our sports teams
I can’t even imagine how different all of these things would look if we shifted our focus to these basic principles Christ teaches his disciples and this crowd of Jews and Gentiles.
Friends, I hope this has challenged you as much as it has me this week. I know we all tend to get distracted by the world, by chasing success, by following the rules, and by people-pleasing, but I hope this serves as a gentle reminder that none of those things are important and we could all use a hard reset back to what matters most.
Reflections:
Are you more likely to see the big picture and focus on what matters most, or do you find you tend to get caught up in the details?
How can you focus on what matters most in your relationships? Your church? Your work life?
What is one practice you can begin that will help you be more diligent about focusing on spiritual growth vs worldly success?