What Really Matters

Blind Faith (No. 31, 2008)

“Going for the gold” will seem to be all that matters when the

Olympic Games begin in just a few days. Thousands of athletes

worldwide have invested countless hours in training and have sacrificed

countless personal relationships striving for their goal. They stand

to gain wealth and adulation for winning, or penury and anonymity for

losing their games. Many stories will be told of families, larger

communities, and even nations sharing dreams of Olympic competition,

offering tangible and emotional support for the athletes’ quests. Too

many stories will uncover athletes and trainers so blinded by Olympic

gold that they abuse themselves, the rules of their sports, and the

spirit of the Olympics by using steroids and other performance-

enhancing drugs. These sad tales lay bare the widespread obsessions

with winning and commercial success. For some, winning is the only

thing that matters. And Olympic silver medals are not acceptable to

some people. For some athletes and nations, Olympic gold is worth any

cost. But, does it really matter?

Competition for headline space will continue to come from

disasters across the nation and around the world. People lambasted by

the Sichuan province earthquake in China, or the Big Sur and Yosemite

wildfires in California, or the landfall of Hurricane Dolly along the

Rio Grande in Mexico and Texas, or the floods in Iowa and Missouri

reacted to the catastrophes with amazing similarity. Sifting through

the ruins of their homes and lives, many pled for an opportunity to

retrieve whatever personal treasures they could find intact. Many were

barred from their homes for days and weeks at a time, sometimes finally

being allowed as little as a 15 minute window in which to snatch the

few items of value they could locate. The tragedy is that the scenes

are certain to continue being repeated following other disasters. In

such a situation, what really matters? Disaster victims universally

talk about grabbing family photo albums, or Grandmother’s quilt, or

sensitive papers, or collections of love letters. Some people put

themselves at grave risk in order to salvage some representation of

their identities. You don’t usually find anyone saying that they just

had to get their stereo, or some trophy or even their golf clubs. What

really matters seems to be people-to-people links, symbols of intimate

and meaningful relationships. A news crew almost always finds someone

saying, “We’ve lost everything! But we can rebuild, and we can get new

things. We’re thankful to be alive, and that’s all that matters.”

Ambitious striving to achieve worthy goals, charting a new

course after surviving a disaster, or facing temptations to find

shortcuts to either pursuit all raise the crucial question, “What

really matters?” Understanding what really matters is important for

keeping everyday decisions about material things, relationships with

other people, personal integrity, and our awareness of how our actions

affect our fellowship with God in proper balance. The Hebrew prophet,

Micah, offered a concise catalog of what really matters: ” The Lord has

told you what is good. He has told you what he wants from you: Do what

is right to other people. Love being kind to others. And live humbly,

trusting your God.” (Micah 6:8 International Children’s Bible)

Micah doesn’t prescribe a sure-fire training regimen for winning

Olympic goal, or for recovering from natural disaster, but the

principles will equip anyone for taking on those challenges or any

others.

Jesus thought and taught that what Micah said was on target for

what really matters. Some other rabbis were actually trying to lay a

trap for Jesus, looking for a self-justifying shortcut for religious

obligations (see Matthew 22:35-40, Luke 10:25-27), when one of them

asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” Jesus’ answer could be

prefaced with “What really matters is….” What Jesus said was: ” Love

the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind,

and all your strength.’ {31} The second command is this: ‘Love your

neighbor as you love yourself.’ There are no commands more important

than these.” (Mark 12:30-31 NCV) The answer is simple and direct.

What really matters is to shape everything we do by demonstrating our

love for God and for other people.
Jesus also explained how we are to maintain the disciplined

life that will lead us to what really matters. It simply means

following Jesus. No exotic religious rites, no austere lifestyle, no

macrobiotic diet, no “Ten Keys to Success.” What really matters is

simply – and radically – to follow Jesus. Here is what Jesus said:

Then he said, so everybody could hear, “If anybody

really wants to share my way of life, let him have no regard for his

own welfare, and let him risk his life every day and walk the way with

me. Whoever puts his own life first shall lose it. But whoever lays his

life on the line for me shall come out on top. For what has a man

gained if he gets the whole world, and his own life is broken or

destroyed?” (Luke 9:23- , Te Cotton Patch Version)

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Shortcuts, extreme training, and many other paths may lead to golden

results, but if Jesus is not at the center of life, it doesn’t really

matter. Only by following Jesus – all the way to our own cross, if

necessary – will we reach genuinely the best life we can live.

What goals are you clamoring to reach? What drives and

disciplines your life? What significance do you attach to material

things, relationships, and personal ethical values? What really

matters to you? If you honestly seek to make your answer, “Jesus,”

that simple answer will lead you to the most challenging and the most

rewarding life you can possibly live. What really matters to you?

J. Edward Culpepper, Ph.D.