I tend toward a more Eyeore perspective than most. Others have been blessed with the spiritual gift of enthusiasm. These people don’t enjoy movies or prefer restaurants. No, they live in the realm of the superlatives. They want me to watch the greatest movie ever made, or to eat the greatest meal ever served. Their strength is the ability to give hearty thanks. My strength is keeping things in perspective. God blesses us mightily all the time. But sometimes He blesses us more than other times. We don’t want our righteous gratitude for the former to cast a shadow on the objective goodness of the latter.
We must, in the words of Augustine, learn to love ordinately. For those of you who have forgotten more math than you remember, remember that there are at least two kinds of numbers, cardinal and ordinal. The former simply count- one, two, three. The latter work in relationship- first, second, third. Saint Augustine told us that all sin is a failure to love ordinately. We love this more than we should, that less than we should, and so find ourselves needing to repent. I love my wife and I love ice cream. That these are both love relationships doesn’t mean I have escaped the problem of sin. If I love ice cream more than my wife, if it is first, and she is second, I cannot wash away my sin with the cultural wash of “love.”
The Bible explains this kind of temptation. Grass is a wonderful thing, flowers even more so. These, however, fade away. It is the Word of the Lord that endures forever. And this is what we need to set before our eyes, what we need to feast upon. Movies and restaurants come and go. What we need, what our children need, is that which will not only outlast the latest these things, but will outlast the mountains and the seas- the Word of God.
The wisdom of this world, because it is objectively foolishness, is always changing. Thus we are told to put our babies to sleep on their backs, no their stomachs, no their sides. This is why we’re told oatmeal is good for you and now bad for you. When we are tossed to and fro by these changing winds of doctrine we show ourselves fools. No matter how bright green it may be, no matter how helpful for feeding cows, grass withers. No matter how fragrant the scent, no matter its purported healing properties, flowers fade. The Word of our Lord, however, endures forever. When we feed upon it, we feed upon life. When we are instructed in its wisdom, we are building foundations on the Rock.
The world may sniff at our choices. They may fear that we have missed out. If, however, we stand on the wisdom of God, His Word, we will stand against whatever comes down the pike, whatever His future holds. The latest and greatest is the next thing on the ash heap. The tried and true Word, that lasts forever. Hang on to that which cannot slip from your hands, the words of life.