Remembering Priorities

This weekend, Ginny and I attended a funeral for one of the sons of Ginny’s coworkers. It was a heartbreaking funeral for a young man, father of one, who died decades before his time.

As they remembered the deceased, one of the speakers was the younger brother who struggles with substance abused and is currently away from home in a discipleship oriented rehab center. His speech was not eloquent, and some may call it simplistic. But it was powerful. I listened to a very candid young man who carries a disastrous history say things like, “The Devil is a liar. He will be nice to you at first, but all he wants to do is kill you.” There was hardly a dry eye in the sanctuary. As I listened to him, I realized something. Paul was spot-on when he said, “I consider them all s@#! that I may gain Christ and be found in him…” (Phil 3:8)

Paul made this declaration in a context that emphasized the ultimate futility of human accomplishments vis-à-vis salvation. As an aspiring academic, it is critical that I hear this as there is a tendency to get caught up in the things of the academy—publications, presentations, or tenor. Indeed, there is nothing inherently wrong with them, and truth be told, I have share in such academic goals. However, I remembered this weekend, as a confessing Christian, such academic goals cannot be the ultimate focus. One’s status among academics is really trivial, particularly in the grand scheme of things. Academics make up a few and represent only a fraction of the Church. What matters most is using divinely endowed gifts and opportunities for the advancement of the kingdom. For academics this means ensuring that our scholarship resonates with masses and edifies the community. This is the priority, and this is the standard.