Game Over: When It All Goes Back in the Box
Seven Simple Truths About LIFE
Ecclesiastes 2:9-11, Matthew 16: 24-27, Matthew 5:3
In December 1994 syndicated columnist Bob Greene told the inspiring story of Rob Mouw. Rob played on the soccer team in his senior year at Wheaton Christian High School. In the final seconds of a big game against favored Waubonsie Valley, with his team behind by one goal, Rob was dribbling the ball in front of him, running at full speed toward the opponent’s goal. Just before he shot the ball, though, he caught sight of the scoreboard. The clock read 00.00. But like any good athlete, Rob shot the ball anyway, and it went in for a goal. The referee signaled that the goal counted, and the game finished in a tie. The Wheaton fans cheered. The Waubonsie Valley fans cried that time had run out. Bob had a choice to make. He could say nothing and avoid a loss. After all, it was the referee’s job to decide the calls, not his. Or Rob could do what was right. His goal was late, and he didn’t think it should count. His coaches agreed, and so they went over to the opposing coaches, explained what had happened, and conceded victory to Waubonsie Valley. Bob Greene ended his article with this quote from Rob Mouw: "Every time in your life you have an opportunity to do right, you should be thankful. For a person to know what right is and then not to do it—that would be a sin. To have won the fame – I mean, really, who cares? Doing the right thing is more important."
That leads us to our first lesson today: It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. And you say, that’s not in the Bible. But actually it’s all over the Bible and one of the major themes of Scripture, though it’s not just captured that way. Sometimes we get so intent on winning the game that we forget what the point is anyway. You see the point of the board game, The Game of Life, is not to have more paper money at the end but to have fun with the people you’re playing with. And that’s the way it often is in our lives. We can get so caught up in winning in the game of life that we forget what the point was at all.
One person who figured this out is known as the Teacher. He is the author and primary character of the Book of Ecclesiastes which is a part of the wisdom literature of the Bible which seeks to pass on the wisdom of God to each generation to help them live lives that honor God. The primary message of the Book of Ecclesiastes is not the most uplifting. It’s says over and over again, everything is meaningless. Here is man who was a descendant of David on the throne of Israel and in his latter years and he begins to look back over his life and he realizes that everything he had been pursuing was utterly meaningless. As a young man, he had grown up in the lap of luxury and decided that life was about pursuing wealth and he had all the things that money could buy but that did not satisfy him. Then he thought maybe life was about pleasure and experiences and so he made up his bucket list and went after them with zeal but when he got to the bottom of his bucket list, he realized that none of it really satisfied. Then he thought it might be about wisdom and he got degree after degree and became as wise as a sage. Yet he still was not satisfied. Listen to his own words, “I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” 2:9-11
This book is meant to be a corrective for the way the world sees life and lives. We can get so focused on what the world says to go after and yet none of them seems to satisfy. This book reminds us that there is something else life is for and it is not about winning and losing. Second, focus on today. Life is not about power, pleasure or wealth but so much more. What discovers is that instead of focusing on pursuing that next big thing, the next raise or job or retirement or sports car, instead focus on today. He says, No, every day is a gift, a moment where you can experience life to the fullest. This is the moment you are meant to live out your life and your faith. So take this moment and fully live into it. Some people are so worried about the future that they fail to live in the present. What can happen is that you are so focused on the future that you miss out on some significant things in the present. Third, life is about family. Sometimes we can be so focused on what we want to achieve and attain in this life that we miss out on the most important thing God has entrusted to us and that’s our family. And if you do miss them, you can get that back. You can’t reclaim them once they’re gone. “Again I saw something meaningless under the sun: There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This too is meaningless— a miserable business! Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” Eccl. 4:7-11
Are you so focused on your career, your raise and your ambitions for the future that you fail to realize the gift of relationships that God has given you today? The second rule is that people come before possessions and positions. Otherwise, you might find yourself getting near the end of the game and you find that you have no one to share it with.
John Ortberg tells the story in his book, “When the Game Is Over, It All Goes back in the Box.” Armond Hammer was the President and CEO of Occidental Petroleum for many years. He was a giant of capitalism and a confidant of world leaders. He was a towering figure on the world scene. But after his death, the true picture of this man became clear. He got his start laundering money for the Soviets. After he made his money, he pain authors to write fictitious autobiographies of his life to impress other people. When he was a young man almost ready to graduate from medical school, he performed an abortion and almost killed the woman. His father took the blame for this and sent two years in prison and the son never spoke up and said he did it. He neglected his own son and never acknowledged that the daughter he conceived out of wedlock. He had no friends in his company where he freely fired his executives. When his brother died, he sued his brother’s estate for &667,000 of the $700,000 estate keeping the money from his brother’s wife who was in a nursing home and his brother’s children. When he died, his own son did not attend the funeral and the only people who carried his casket were those who were paid to take care of him in his home. So here’s the question, did he win or lose at the game of life?
Jesus’ Prescription for Life In Matthew 16, Jesus is preparing the disciples for his eminent death. They weren’t really prepared for that. It wasn’t what they had in mind when they left their friends, family, homes and careers to follow Jesus. He was the King and when he ascended to power, they’d be right there with him. This was a great career path. Then he says, The son of Man will be despised and rejected and put to death. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. This isn’t the way it was supposed to end and so they cry out, “Lord, let it no be so.” And Jesus turns to Peter and says, Get behind me Satan. This is the path I’m traveling.
There are two paths in life, one that is wide and easy and that leads to destruction. The other is narrow and difficult and that leads to life. Most people take the broad path because they want the easy way. Jesus reminds them that it is not always easy to follow him. In fact, sometimes it is downright difficult. Then he says to to them, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Other translations say, what would it profit a man in exchange for his life?” Which one is it? The Greek word is psyche from which we have the word psychology. Psyche is the soul, the mind and the very heart. It’s not your body but your soul for you can gain the world but lose your soul and ultimately the life you wanted. Some people can be so consumed with the victory and attaining the success but they have lost everything and everyone in the process. You can be so focused on gaining the whole world that you lose your soul.
When you live that kind of life, you don’t have time for anything else. You don’t have 5 minutes to read the Bible. You don’t have any time to pray to God and or to attend a small group Bible study, there’s not time for that either. And pretty soon, the only time you have to get your work done is Sunday morning and so church is lost and God becomes a distant reality. In the process you have lost your life and you soul. So Jesus asks and I want you to read it on the screen with me: “What good will it be to gain the world world, yet forfeit your soul? Or what can you give in exchange for your soul?”
So how do we not lose our soul? Jesus says we need to do three things: deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. First is deny yourself. It means, My life is not going to be focused on attaining things or bringing as much pleasure in my life as I can. I’m not going to be as focused on me anymore. Instead, I am going to be focused on God’s will and then lifting that up for other people. I am going to be more interested in how I can bless you rather than how you can bless me, focused on what I can give you rather than what I can receive from you. I’m going to be more interested in how to serve rather than being served. Jesus said, “The one who would be great among you must be a servant.To the first shall be last and the last shall be first. The one who gains their life will lose and the ones who lose their life will gain it. It’s about giving your life away. Even Milton Bradley understood this in what they call life spaces: Some of them include volunteering at a soup kitchen, learning CPR and another is donating $40,000 to African orphans. Even in the mist of making money, you realize life is about giving and servicing.
Second, Jesus says, take up your cross which is a willingness to sacrifice. It’s a willing ness to give up yourself for the greater mission of Jesus. It’s a willingness to risk it all for the sake of the Gospel. Third is following Jesus. That’s knowing him personally, talking with him and seeking to do his will and work for the kingdom. It’s waking up every morning and saying, Lord, here I am, help me to do your will and honor and glorify you this day. Following him means opening up the Scriptures and reading what he did and had to say and to follow the same path. It is in these three things that our soul, our psyche and our life are restored. This is how we find life.
It is in these three things that our soul, our psyche and our life are restored. This is how we find life pine, brushed aluminum or if you have the money, handrubbed cherry. For all of us, it’s all going to go back in the box. And then the question becomes pertinent, “What did it all mean?” When we pastors make a death call, we ask the deceased family about that person’s life, who they were, what they loved and in a word describe who they were. And we listen for stories. What we’re mining for is their life message. Your eulogy is being written right now in how you are leading your life. And so what is the message you are preaching with your life right now. Do you like it? What would your people be saying about you if I at down with them and asked them to summarize who you were and what your life stood for? Every once in a while, we need to ask that question about our lives. This is the chance for you to either affirm the message your life is preaching or to change it. You are writing their own eulogy right now. What will they say about you?
