Untitled Sermon

Distracted By The Gear

Thinking about my struggle with material obsession in light of Christianity, ie, Bibles. I found myself so distracted by the translations being used, the physical properties of Bibles that it severely pulled me away from where I needed to be focusing. I would be distracted listening to a preacher because of what translation he was using, thinking "Oh boy, he's using the ESV or the NIV" or whatever, then I would be distracted by the kind of Bible he was using. Fake leather? Bonded leather? Goatskin? Paper? Hardback? Gilding? Art Gilding? etc. I had a image come to my mind today concerning this. The mountain is our spiritual journey, our sanctification sort of. I started out not too bad, made some big accomplishments on my way. Then I saw some other hikers with some really awesome hiking boots. Something ignited in me, I was obsessed with the idea of getting one of these good pairs of hiking boots. I had to have one. I stopped hiking for a while to save up some cash for one of these pairs of boots until I finally had enough. I pulled the trigger. Boy they were fantastic boots, this will make my hike to the top so much easier and enjoyable! After a couple weeks I started thinking, boy I wish these boots had a stiffer sole. Then I would really be happy, then I could really move! So after a few months, I buy another pair, different brand this time, now I'm set! Meanwhile I'm seeing different hikers pass on by me, and I'm noticing their boots. Some of these guys are wearing running shoes, let alone cheap branded hiking boots! Sometimes I call out to them, "Man, you should really get a pair of these fancy boots I have, they make hiking so much easier and enjoyable!" Sometimes they smile and continue on, sometimes they stop and think 'he's right'. They start saving up for a pair. Meanwhile, I've stopped hiking again, examining my boots, at first just to admire them, but then I'm becoming critical. "Boy I wish the tops weren't so high, if I could have one like this with lower tops then I could really move!" I'm at it again, I've stopped to save up some cash and buy yet another pair, meanwhile my backpack resting on my shoulders is getting heavier, I keep tying up my old pairs of boots, because I still want to be able to use them if I need them. Now, I'm seeing more and more hikers pass me by. I can't believe what they're using on their feet, some of those things are so cheap and junky and are being held up by tape. Sometimes I have to take out my binoculars to see what the hikers way up ahead of me are wearing. "They're using that brand?! Wow, those are horrible hiking bikes, why would they use those ones, they're clearly professional hikers, why would they use entry level boots?" "I don't think I'll pay much attention to his techniques on climbing even though he's a hundred feet ahead of me, not if he's using that kind of equipment". Are we getting side tracked? Whats occupying our mind? We might have the best equipment for the job, but we might be the worst at hiking. Refocus on what we need to be, because if we aren't fully surrendered for God's use, we're sort of useless in the big picture.