People
want goals put in front of them, something to strive for, so that they aren’t
having to come face-to-face with the futility of their lives. Even people in
the church are pushed this way. You’ve got to go, go, go, so we can reach the
goal. But what happens after we reach the goal? Do we finally find rest? No! We
find futility once again. And so, we need another goal in front of us. I’ve
seen this happen with people who are over 100 years old. And I understand it,
but I think most people don’t understand it. Because if you see futility, you
feel desperation. And then what?
I’m not saying goals are wrong. I’m saying we can’t let goals become God. And for many people their goals are their gods. It’s the center of their lives, what drives them, motivates them, identifies them. They don’t realize the idolatry in this because they’re replacing what only God can give, which is everlasting, with what goals give, which is temporal. And they do these things in the name of God and don’t realize that what’s really at the center of their lives is themselves. And their desire for identity and to remove futility. Instead of submitting to God and finding rest in him.
In the OT mindset, there was a direct link between idolatry and futility. Because worshiping those manmade idols was worthless and wasteful. It was empty, foolish, and mindless. It meant nothing in the end, but destruction. And in Ephesians 4, Paul is saying that a futile mind leads to a futile life. And people run away from the futility by running into activity. Because in their heart they know that they can’t face the truth without having to change the way they live. And they don’t want to. So, they stay busy avoiding God. Even in the name of serving God.
Many churches are full of programs, projects, events, campaigns, and goals to achieve. Sometimes they lump it all together and call it vision casting. And they may do it in the name of serving the community and Christ. But it can serve to sever some people from the reality of their futility. Because they’re busy in the church life, so they think they’re good with God.
And think of the end of the Sermon on the Mount. People tell Jesus that they did this and this and this for you, and we were involved in that and that and that, in your name. And Jesus says depart from me I don’t know you. And part of what he means is that you don’t know me. In the name of serving God, you can still serve an idol, because you’re still running away from the reality of your futility. You haven’t actually put Jesus in the center of your life, you have worshiped an idol, thinking it was him. But it was just you.
