I thought I’d done it. I believed I’d played the corporate system and won – beaten the fat cats at their own game. I enjoyed six months of basking in the glow of victory over our consumerist culture. “It’s possible to be a good steward, manage God’s resources prudently, AND acquire a soundly functional timepiece,” I bragged. Then, the Alabama summer burst my bubble.
It was last December that I made my great purchase. I’d been using a Fitbit as my watch for a few years. And yet, I was growing tired of it telling me that I’d failed to get enough exercise, slept poorly and was a great disappointment to the human race. More importantly, I was fed up having to tap the screen to see the time. Even when I did tap the screen it gave me the time in just hours and minutes, not including seconds. (Call me obsessive, but I NEED to start church services at the EXACT time they are advertised – to the second. I justify this pathology by telling myself that I must honor those who have turned up to worship at the advertised hour, and that to start late is to disrespect them.) So, I needed a watch with a second hand and that I can simply glance at without having to press buttons or tap screens.
Basically, I went Old School. I went to Walmart (where else?) and picked up a not unattractive, solid-looking, analogue wristwatch. It even had a ‘vegan’ strap, adding to my feelings of self-righteousness. And here’s the money shot – I paid $13 for it. Yes, indeedy. $13 for a brand new watch. Was I feeling smug? You betcha.
Over the next six months it did exactly what I needed it to do. It kept excellent time. I only needed to correct it by a few seconds a month. Then last week, after an especially humid day, some of which I’d wasted reading by the pool, my watch developed droplets of water under the glass. I can still read the hands (so I won’t be buying a new one) but there is now a film of condensation covering most of the underside of the glass. I’ve been robbed. If I’d known it was going to do this, I’d have bought a cheaper one.
Last Sunday I preached about two deep little parables Jesus tells about the Kingdom of God. It is like a treasure hidden in a field that someone finds, then hides again, then goes and buys the field; and it is like a pearl merchant who sells all he has to buy a specimen of immense value. The kingdom of God is real winner for bargain-hunters like me. Being under the lordship of Christ costs a lot. Everything you own, actually. All that you have and all that you are. But the goods are worth every little bit of it.
Following Jesus will cost you your independence, your freedom, your unrestrained self-interest – actually, your whole life. But I urge you to make that trade. The benefits are out of this world.