Been There, Done That

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who guards his master will be honored. As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man. (Proverbs 27:17-20 ESV). The “Official Star Trek Convention” was held in Las Vegas last week. In one of the convention auctions where Star Trek memorabilia was auctioned, there was one very interesting item that was bought by an avid fan. It was a half-filled glass of water that had been sipped by a cast member who had a virus. The item sold for $40. The person who bought it immediately drank it, because they wanted to get the same virus the cast member from Star Trek had. "Bizarre" is one word that comes to mind after a story like that. But is it really any more bizarre when you start thinking about the things that supposedly normal people dedicate their entire lives to? They will dedicate their lives to acquiring possessions. They will dedicate their lives to sexual conquest. They will dedicate their lives to getting the finest education the world can offer. But what they will find out eventually is that if in their pursuit of these things, they forget about God, it will result in emptiness. Take it from the expert, Solomon, who likely wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon was the one person who could say, "Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt." He knew about these things firsthand. He went on a quest, deciding he was going to try everything this world had to offer. But he wisely concluded that just as death and destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied. When God created us, He wired us this way. The Bible says that He has placed eternity in our hearts (cf. Ecclesiastes 3:11), which simply means that in the heart of every man and woman, there is a sense that there is something more out there. It is almost as though we were born with a God-shaped hole inside. Tragically we try to fill it with so many things that simply won’t fit or fill that void. Perhaps this is why Solomon wrote the proverbs of our reading today. He knew the value of “iron sharpening iron.” Perhaps you do not have someone who challenges you to stretch your mind and spirit, to grow in your knowledge and understanding of God and his will and purpose for your life. If that is the case, please be encouraged to find someone who you may mutually hone your mind. It is the way of true discipleship. It is often slow and tedious work, but there really aren’t any short-cuts to “catching the virus.” There is so much more God has for us. He never wants us to experience one day where we may say, “been there, done that.”