The Tyranny of the Insignificant

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The Tyranny of the Insignificant

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10

“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

                  In 1967, Charles Hummel wrote a best seller titled “The Tyranny of the Urgent.”  In this book, he reminds us that “your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important.”  He rightfully points out, “There is an insidious tendency to neglect important tasks that do not have to be done today—or even this week.”   Nevertheless, there is a greater danger we face, one that we all fall into its snare, and that is the tyranny of the insignificant.      

We spend the bulk of our lives pursuing goals, careers and plans that ultimately become nothing but long-forgotten dreams.  We direct our focus, time, energy, and resources on the things that become useless at the end of life and become nothing more than worn-out relics that demand our time and energy but give us nothing in return.  We pursue careers and strive to advance up the corporate ladder to make more money, have a more significant impact, and make a difference in our world.  Yet, soon after we retire, our efforts are forgotten, and the next person dismantles everything we seek to accomplish.  At the end of our life, all our accomplishments are forgotten and all the things we worked so hard to obtain become fodder for the refuge dump.  We do not even take with us the clothes on our backs.  We came into this world with nothing and we leave this world with nothing.  

                  In 2 Corinthians 4 and 5, Paul seeks to reorient our perspective on life.                   From the world’s perspective, Paul's life seemed to be on a destructive trajectory.  Instead of obtaining the praise and acknowledgment of people, he faced continual ridicule and rejection.  Instead of enjoying prosperity and a life of ease, he was “constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’s sake.”  If one were to walk in Paul’s shoes, one would quickly conclude that his life was not worth living.  However, Paul does not lose heart; instead, he points us in a completely different direction.  For Paul, significance and meaning in life did not come from the world and what he accomplished in the present; instead, it came from the eternal and what he accomplished in eternity. Paul reminds us that everything in the present age is temporal, even life itself.  Therefore, to find true significance, we must look beyond the present and look to the eternal.  This transforms our focus and what we seek to accomplish in life.  Our ultimate ambition is not to gain success in the eyes of men but to obtain success in the sight of God. 

The only thing that has eternal value is the lives of others and their salvation.  Meaning and significance in life come when we are persuading others to surrender their life to Christ.  Purpose,  meaning, and importance in life are found by proclaiming the message of Christ’s salvation and reconciliation.  It is to become an ambassador for Christ appealing to others to be reconciled to God (vs 20).  If you want genuine significance in life, it comes by centering your life upon Christ and becoming a message of salvation to others.  The only thing we will take with us into eternity from the present is the lives of the people we bring to Christ.  That is the only thing that is ultimately worth pursuing. 

 

                  

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