“Treatment for a Global Dis-ease”
Hillcrest Church Office
July 16, 2003
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“Treatment for a Global Dis-ease”
by Tom Goodman
A sports reporter talked with the wife of a New York Yankees ballplayer who had just signed an $89 million contract. He had held out for a long while before signing, hoping that the management would match the $91 million offer of another
team. The Yankees did not budge. His wife later said, "When I saw him walk in the house, I immediately knew that he had not succeeded in persuading them to move up from eighty-nine to ninety-one million. He felt so rejected.
It was one of the saddest days of our lives."*
Gee, wouldn’t you like to feel the “rejection” of getting a paltry $89 million contract?
We ache for more. I haven’t met anyone who wasn’t touched by this dis-ease. Not one. Contemporary folk singer, David Wilcox, sings:
No there’s never enough.
I mean, even when I’ve got everything I need,
I can tell myself times are tough.
No there’s never enough.*
Our discontent touches more than our income. In Luke 12:15, Jesus told us to “be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” All kinds—
More recognition.
More appreciation.
More exposure.
More power.
And what have these cravings done to us? For one, they’ve kept us from just enjoying our God-given talents. Ecclesiastes 5:18 (NASB) says, “Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all
one’s labor.” I love that scene in Chariots of Fire when Olympic runner Eric Liddel explains his love of running: “God made me fast! And when I run, I feel His pleasure!” Discontent can rob us of experiencing the simple joy of a job well
done.
Two, discontent can keep us from living a balanced life. We know that we’re to give attention to more than just our work, but the gnawing craving of ambition can cause us to focus exclusively on work to the neglect of our health, our family,
our spiritual development, and the care we should show to our neighbors.
Three, raw ambition can lead us to make questionable ethical choices. We end up using people, coloring the truth, and skirting the edge of honor in the pursuit of whatever it is we think will make us happy.
Serious stuff. That’s why this Sunday we’re going to look at how to wean our soul from such corrupting cravings. We’re going to learn how to pray the prayer of Psalm 131.
See you at 8:30 or 10:45!
--Tom
P.S., our Youth Minister Search Committee is off and running! Though we are not ready to evaluate resumes yet, be thinking about names of youth ministers you’d like us to consider. Before we ask for names of candidates, though, we’re going to
ask you complete a survey that will help us know what you want to see in the next youth minister. Be watching for that survey in the next few weeks. Keep the following names and e-mail addresses handy in case you need to contact members
of the search committee. The members are Chairman Debbie Marett (rdnjt@yahoo.com), Jason Alvis (Jas0n2cool@aol.com), Jennifer Hicks (jbhicks@austin.rr.com), Bob Hill (rmjahill@aol.com), Judi Raymund (judiray@swbell.net), and Tom Pugh (Mopugh@austin.rr.com). Before you finish reading this edition of Winning Ways, please lift up a quick prayer for the important work of this group!
*I first read the story of the Yankees ball player in Jesus Among the Gods by Ravi Zacharias pp. 43,44. The David Wilcox song is called “Never Enough,” from his 1999 CD, Underneath.
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