So often in CrossFit workouts competitors and spectators get caught up in the “sexy” movements and forget that most often workouts are won on the monotonous, boring movements. A great example is the Open workout last week. Everybody gets excited to watch and to perform the muscleups. The reality is however that the workout is won and lost on your capability to endure pain through hundreds of wall balls. As a culture, we give value to the flashy exciting muscleup and in the process take the focus off of the hard, essential wall ball.
We tend to do the same in our Christian lives. We let the world around us and the culture that disciples us tell us what is most valuable and grab our attention. In a practical sense, we let culture place things like money, status, and personal glory as idols in our lives. We glorify what culture says is flashy and sexy. When that seduction becomes a pattern in our lives we begin to lose sight of what God says is reality and live in a fantasy world full of lies and deception.
Ecclesiastes 1 reminds us that many of the things that the world gives value to and that the world says is important are simply vanity and meaningless.
Matthew 6:21 pointedly notes that often we put our desires and hopes if our heart in things that mean nothing. Jesus makes a point here that we treasure things that lack eternal value.
1 John 2:15–16: reiterates this point by telling us that a love for the world or the things of the world ultimately distracts us from the Father. Putting our hopes and desires and elevating the pieces and parts of the world that culture says are important will ultimately draw us away from the things that God says is important.
We experience this tension daily. Whether it’s a new job offer, how we manage our time with our family, what we spend our money on, and the list continues on and on. This tension is experienced throughout daily decisions, choices, and actions. Just like with 15.3 we are tempted to give value and focus to the sexy, flashy, passions of the flesh that the culture says are worthwhile. At the same time we ignore the constant eternal desires that God is placed in our life. The flashy, seductive longings of culture will fade and disappoint. The consistent, eternal longings for things of the Lord will stand forever. Take a hard look at your heart. What do you give value to? What do you chase with your time and your money and your attention? Have you given value and power to flashy, vane, finite idols and in so doing diminish the value and importance of eternal things?