Here’s a quick reminder to help you keep a healthy perspective on life: What you see—it is temporary. It is here today and gone tomorrow, inexorably headed for the dustbin of history! I didn’t say it is unimportant—that may or may not be the case—but, for sure, it is temporary. It will all, even the really expensive stuff, sooner or later, return to the dust from which it came. Spiritually wise people will fight to keep that perspective regarding the stuff of life.
The Journey: Luke 21:5-6
Some of his disciples began talking about the majestic stonework of the Temple and the memorial decorations on the walls. But Jesus said, “The time is coming when all these things will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”
Here’s a quick reminder to help you keep a healthy perspective on life: What you see—it is temporary; it is here today, gone tomorrow and inexorably headed for the dustbin of history!
I didn’t say it is unimportant—that may or may not be the case—but, for sure, it is temporary. It will all, even the really expensive stuff, sooner or later, return to the dust from which it came.
The disciples were pretty infatuated with the beauty and magnificence of Herod’s Temple, and rightly so, from a human perspective. It was a wonder to behold. But Jesus gave them a dose of reality by reminding them that every square inch of it would soon return to the dust from which it had been created.
Jesus didn’t say that the temple was unimportant. In fact, he had driven out the moneychangers who were corrupting that very place. (Matthew 21:12-13) He was upset that they had turned what should have been a house of prayer into a den of thieves. Jesus wasn’t down on this marvelous place of worship. He just knew that in the larger scheme of things, it was only temporary.
So also are all the things that give you comfort and security: Your home, car, clothes, jewelry, and all the other stuff that you spend your hard earned money on just to one day put in a garage sale. Not necessarily unimportant, mind you—just temporary.
Spiritually wise people will fight to keep that perspective regarding the stuff of life. They will remember, as Jesus said, that not only earth, but even the heavens as we know them will one day pass away. The only things that will remain are the things that he has proclaimed: “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.” (Luke 21:33)
That’s why Jesus warned us not to get too caught up in the things of life: “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing” — the pursuit of happiness … “drunkenness” — the pursuit of pleasure … “and by the worries of this life” — the pursuit of comfort. (Luke 21:34)
The temporary stuff of this life will prove to be “a trap” (Luke 21:35) if we don’t ruthlessly maintain an eternal perspective: “Watch therefore, and pray…” (verse 36).
Friend, it would be wise for you to remember what the Master said as you go about your day today. Your stuff is temporary; only what is of faith is eternal. Perhaps a good prayer for you to whisper throughout this day would be the one suggested by Bernard, Archbishop of Vienne: “Let your prayer for temporal blessings be strictly limited to things absolutely necessary.” Perhaps that will keep you suspicious that most of what the world will tell you that you’ve just got to have now will produce nothing that will follow you into eternity.
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