It's Not About You Series

“The world is peppered with people who can coax small seeds of inspiration into richly flowering ideas that put humankind on a better path.

“And then there's that guy in Des Moines.” So began an Associated Press report a few years ago on October 15, 2017.

The Iowa State Patrol made his acquaintance at the back end of a chase on Interstate 80…

Shortly before 7:30 a.m. a trooper tried to pull him over for a traffic violation, but he stepped on the gas and triggered what turned into a 10-to-15-minute pursuit. Additional officers joined in. It all ended when he left the interstate, and a pit maneuver forced the fleeing car and driver to a stop near a Des Moines elementary school.

When asked why he refused to stop, the 46-year-old driver told authorities that leading police on a chase was just something on his Bucket List.

State Patrol Sgt. Scott Bright, a 28-year veteran of law enforcement, told the Associated Press he'd never heard such an excuse.

Adding to the list of things being sorted out by people in suits and uniforms—the car didn't belong to the driver; the driver was driving with someone else's license, and he was on parole at the time he hit the gas on his Bucket List quest. Formal charges are pending (“I-80 chase capped with ‘Bucket List' excuse,’” Associated Press, WOWT, 10-15-17, www.wowt.com/content/ news/I-80-chase-capped-with-Bucket-List-excuse-450980723. html; www.PreachingToday.com).

It’s amazing what some people pursue in life, most of which are trivial pursuits. Many people pursue getting rich, a life of pleasure, or being popular. However, these pursuits pale in comparison to the real pursuits that make a real difference in a real world. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 10, 1 Corinthians 10, where the Bible shows us what is truly worth pursuing.

1 Corinthians 10:23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up (ESV).

Sure, a lot of things in life are legal, but they are not helpful or constructive. So, what is helpful and constructive? What is a worthy pursuit in life?

1 Corinthians 10:24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor (ESV).

Live your life for others, not yourself. Seek to advance your neighbor above yourself. Seek his or her benefit more than your own. That’s the only life worth living, because it’s not about you! When you live to indulge yourself, life is miserable. But when you live for others, life is meaningful. Sure, go ahead and…

ENJOY YOUR LIBERTY IN CHRIST if you’re a believer.

Appreciate all the good things God provides. Delight in His abundant provision.

1 Corinthians 10:25-26 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof” (ESV).

That’s a quote right out of Psalm 24:1. Everything belongs to God, so everything is good, even the meat sold in the market.

Remember, Paul is addressing the issue of meat offered to idols, which vendors sold in the marketplace at a discount (1 Corinthians 8:1). Believers are free to enjoy that meat at home, as long as they stay out of the pagan temples where idolaters offered that meat (1 Corinthians 10:1-22). Believers are also free to enjoy meat in an unbeliever’s home.

1 Corinthians 10:27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience (ESV).

Don’t ask about where the meat came from. Just enjoy the steak without letting it bother your conscience. This reflects what Jesus said when he sent his followers out to announce the coming of His Kingdom. He told them, “Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you” (Luke 10:8).

Tim Chester, in his book A Meal with Jesus, put it this way: “Think of your favorite food. Steak perhaps. Or Thai green curry. Or ice cream. Or homemade apple pie. God could have just made fuel. He could have made us to be sustained by some kind of savory biscuit. Instead, he gave a vast and wonderful array of foods.

“Food is a central experience of God's goodness… The world is more delicious than it needs to be. We have a superabundance of divine goodness and generosity. God went over the top. We don't need the variety we enjoy, but he gave it to us out of sheer exuberant joy and grace (Tim Chester, A Meal with Jesus, Crossway, 2011, pp. 67-68; www.PreachingToday.com).

God delights in giving His children an abundance of good gifts. He also delights when His children enjoy those gifts.