Joy In The Desert

Hobbies can be another source of joy. How many of you have hobbies? Good! I encourage all of you to have hobbies. What are some of them – can you share? (invite people to share) I have many hobbies myself. Camping. Hiking. Reading. Riding a motorcycle. Fixing up old cars. Reading books. Watching movies. In fact, I have so many hobbies, I find hobbies rather frustrating, because I rarely have time to engage in any of them! While hobbies are a very good thing for peace of mind, for relaxation, and for being productive in your spare time, my sense it that hobbies don’t lead to lasting and exuberant joy. Especially at times when our ability to engage in our hobbies, due to time constraints, or physical limitations, seems to slip away from us.

Another place many people seek joy is entertainment. Just drive by any of our movie theaters any evening of the week. Seventeen screens. Parking lot . . . full. Same with the mall. Or at home, people gather in front of the Cathode Ray Tube, or Plasma Screen, or whatever we stare into these days to get our daily TV fix – and they sit there for hours. In the USA, children watch an average of six hours of television per day. Some people have the TV or radio on constantly – even when they’re sleeping. They can never get enough. Is this is source of joy? Is there someone who can stand here and say: watching the things I watch on TV makes me feel joyful? If one of you can, maybe you can share what it is that you’re watching, and we’ll tune in too! Entertainment is not a source of lasting joy. In fact, most of what we consider entertainment today, is probably not good for you! Entertainment just masks the signs of our inward loneliness and restlessness.

The world seems to tell us, and pretty often this comes through TV, or radio, or newpapers, or magazines, or billboards – that we need more stuff. That our stuff – our possessions – is the secret to joy. I have to admit, for a long time, I very easily played into the hands of these gifted marketeers. “Stuff for joy! Get your stuff here!” Automobiles, with that new car smell! “Be the envy of your neighbors” A new home, with central vacuum and all the amenities! “Impress your friends!” Sparkling gold and diamond jewelry! The latest kitchen appliance, in your choice of chrome, black, white, almond, red, cobalt blue, or forest green. The trouble is, you get this stuff home, and someone’s upset because you got your stuff and they didn’t get their stuff. And then you have to figure out how to pay for it all, as the debts pile up and creditors start calling on the phone. And then your stuff starts to get old. And it needs dusting. Or repairing. And it’s not as impressive – as joyful – as it once seemed. Stuff doesn’t lead to lasting joy – the kind Isaiah was talking about.

(SLIDE 3: Empty?) Perhaps some of you feel like you’re lost in a dry and parched land right now. You’ve walked the ragged and dusty hills looking for water – seeking joy. And every where you look – to family, to friends, career, vacation from the career, entertainment, stuff, even religion – you come away empty. And you become weak. And your knees seem ready to buckle underneath you. Your heart grows weary and faint.