We are in a better sermon series where each week we are looking at a Bible passage that shows us what a better life looks like. Last week we learned that Better is one day…. Wait. I hope you memorized this verse, so let’s try it together. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. While the world is always telling us that life is better on vacation or in retirement or when we get married or have the perfect job, the truth is that as good as all those things might be, what is better is a life lived with the constant awareness of God’s presence, power, and peace at work in our lives.
Today we are going to look at another lie that the world tells us about what is best in life and this lie is so deeply ingrained in us that it shapes just about everything we think and do. The lie is this, if one is good, then two are better. In just about every situation we tell ourselves that if one is good then two are better. One car is good but if we had two cars, an extra car or a sports car or an off road vehicle for adventure and thrills - it would be better. When I drove out of my garage on Wednesday morning and heard the thump thump thump of a flat tire, a second car may have been good, but honestly, it wasn’t needed.
If we have one house, that’s good, but if we had two houses, and if that other house could be a cottage at the beach or a cabin in the woods or an apartment in the city, life would be better. If playing one sport is good, then playing two is better. If having one TV or phone or tablet is good, then having two is better. If having one dollar is good, then certainly having two is better.
In many ways this lie goes back to the very beginning of history when Adam and Eve were placed in the garden. God gave them every tree to eat from except one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The serpent came to them and said, look if all this is good then one more has to be better. It didn’t matter that God said don’t eat from that tree, Adam and Eve bought into the lie that one more is always better. It’s a lie we still hear and believe today.
During the fall season there is a big debate that we have to endure and no… it’s not political, but people can be just as passionate about it. Do you like or dislike candy corn? Is candy corn even candy? And if it is candy, why did someone make candy that even looks like corn? We don’t have candy peas or candy broccoli, so why candy corn? Here is the big question, do you like candy corn? I hate to admit it, but I do. I’m not sure why I do, it tastes like sugary-wax, but I like it. One handful is good.
But candy corn is one of those candies where one handful is good but if I were to eat two handfuls, all that waxy sugar just sits in my stomach and makes me feel not so good. One handful is good, but two is not better. Two can make you sick. If you remember nothing else from this message, I hope that from now on, every time you see candy corn you will be reminded that more is not always better.
The lie the world tells us is that two handfuls are better than one, but here’s the truth. It is better to have less of what doesn’t matter and more of what does matter. More is not always better, more can lead to all kinds of problems. So here is our better verse for this week: Better one handful with tranquility, than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 4:6
Why is one hand better? Let me show you…
If I have one hand free I can reach out and help someone who is in need. I can encourage someone and lift them up. If I have one hand free I can hold someone’s hand in love or in solidarity. With one hand free I can reach out to God in praise or in prayer and I have an open hand to welcome and invite others into my heart or life or church. With an open hand I can do those things that not only make life better but help me grow in faith.
As followers of Jesus we are committed to growing in three primary relationships, a relationship with God, the Church, and the World. That can’t happen without an open hand. We need an open hand to use our gifts to serve others in the church. We need an open hand to love our brothers and sisters in the community. We need an open hand to welcome people and introduce them to Jesus. We need an open hand to be a blessing to people in the world. All of these things are rhythms that strengthen these relationships and without an open hand we can’t grow in these rhythms. If you aren’t familiar with the 3 relationships and the rhythms of life and love that help us grow in them, then I want to encourage you to take part in the grow workshop next Sunday.
With a free hand I can do all these things that make life and faith better, but if I have two handfuls, I can’t do much of anything other than hold on to these two handfuls. I can’t help others. I can’t serve others. I can’t love others. I can’t welcome people or invite people because I have to just keep holding on to what’s in my hands.
Jesus warned his followers about this “more is better” way of life when he said, Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Luke 12:15
Jesus then told a story about a man who thought if one was good then two is always better. It was a man who was given such an abundant harvest that he didn’t have enough room to store all his crops so he tore down his barns to build bigger ones. More is always better, he thought, because now I will have enough for the rest of my life. I can take it easy, eat, drink and be merry. But after those bigger and better barns were built, God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” Luke 12:20
The man spent his entire life working to get more and to keep more. He trusted all that he held onto with his two hands and while he was rich in this world he was not rich in the things of God. He allowed what he had to literally have him. That’s what Jesus is warning us about, don’t let what you have, have you. Don’t let what you hold on to with two hands get a hold of you. Instead, hold on to what really matters.
What ultimately matters to you? If the doctor told you that you had just 30 days to live, what would you do? What priorities would you set? What stories have you heard from the people of Florida whose homes and possessions are literally gone but they still have hope and peace and joy because the things that mattered most to them, their families, friends, church family, and faith, are still there.
What is really important to you? I don’t want that to be a rhetorical question we just gloss over, I want you to think for a moment and if you are taking notes, write down what is ultimately important to you. Go home and talk as a family or with your friends about what is ultimately most important in your life. Ask that question on your social media pages and see what response you get. My guess is people aren’t going to talk about bank accounts, types of cars, or their latest phones. What they will talk about is family, friends, and faith. But do we have an empty hand to focus on these things or are we too busy holding onto things that don’t really matter.
Better one handful with tranquility than two hands and turmoil. How can we move into this one handful living? It starts by being willing to let go of what doesn’t matter. Hebrews 12:1
Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
Let us throw off everything that hinders us, everything that doesn’t matter but that we still hold on to. Here are 3 ways we can begin to let go:
Cut Back
Throw Out
Turn Off
Cut back - I’m not sure what you might need to cut back on but many of us need to cut back in one of these two areas, spending or schedules. Some of us need to cut back on our spending so that we can develop financial margins in life that can bring some peace and tranquility. The more we spend, the more we think we have to spend to keep up with others, or to keep up with our own expectations. That’s chasing after the wind because there will be a new fashion or a better technology that will come out next month and to keep up we will have to spend more to get it. If we begin to cut back, we might realize we don’t need as much, we don’t need what’s new, and we can then save more, and be more generous and again, generosity is a rhythm in our relationship with the church that can lead us to a better life.
Some people need to cut back in their schedules because they didn’t put into practice what we learned last month, which is that we can’t handle it all. We think we can do it all. We tell ourselves we can do it all. We try to do it all, and we try to make sure our kids are doing it all, but all we are doing is running ourselves and our families into the ground. We are holding on to too many things and have no free hand and no free time to stop and breathe. Cut back.
Or maybe what you need to do is literally let go and throw out.
I heard a great phrase that week: throw away as if your life depends on it, because it does. We think that all our stuff is important but for many of us, our stuff is just weighing us down and holding us back. Just like the man in Jesus’ story, all our stuff needs to be housed and cared for so we build bigger closets, and when those are full we move things to bigger attics and basements, and when those are full we move things to bigger garages and when we still don’t have enough room we go and rent space to store our stuff because our stuff is important - but it’s not.
Not long ago I realized that without children, all my stuff will go to my nieces and nephews who I can assure you don't want it, so I started to go through my stuff and throw things out. Actually, I didn’t throw things out as much as I thought about - who would want this now? Who could use this now? What can I donate, what can I give away, and at times what needs to be thrown away? What clothes did I not wear last winter that I won’t wear this winter as well? Can I donate those now so they can get into the hands of someone who will wear it, someone who needs it?
I will never forget when Bishop Yambasu from Sierra Leone visited and as I pulled my car into the garage he talked about how much stuff we have and how many people’s garages are so full. He said his pastors didn’t have two pairs of shoes and we have so much stuff that our garages are full of boxes and we don’t even know what’s in them. I was humbled and started asking myself what can I throw out and how can I cut back on buying more.
Cut back, throw out, and Turn off. What do you need to turn off in your life? Maybe it’s the TV. Maybe it’s your cell phone. Maybe it’s one of your social media accounts. Maybe you need to turn off CNN or Fox News. It’s not just filling both hands that is a problem, it’s also filling our ears and minds and hearts with too much of the world that we can’t hear God. Think how tranquil our lives might be if we turned off some of the noise around us. Can we turn off this world so we can tune into God?
Cutting back, throwing out, and turning off can help us let go of what doesn’t matter in life, but then we have to fight for what does matter. Earlier I asked you to think about what matters most in your life. Look at those things again. What would it look like for you to fight for those things?
When the people of Israel returned to Jerusalem after living in a foreign land for generations, they began to rebuild the walls of the city under the leadership of Nehemiah. The people worked hard and were getting weary and the enemies of Israel thought the time was coming when the people would give up their work and when they did, they would be able to walk into the city and take it over. Nehemiah knew what was going on so stood up and said this to his people.
Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes. Nehemiah 4:14
This needs to be our battle cry today, fight for what matters. Fight for your sons and daughters, fight for your marriage and family, fight for your faith and your values, fight for what is ultimately important and let go of what’s not. I don’t know what this fight looks like for you, but my guess is that right now - you do.
You know what it looks like to fight for your sons and daughters. It means giving them your time and attention. It means listening to their words and nurturing their hearts. It’s making sure they are your priority in life and not just on some list.
And you know what it looks like to fight for your marriage. It means your love needs to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things and endure all things. It means being the first to forgive and the first to serve. It means getting help for the problems that seem to divide you and not be so quick to give up. You know what it means to fight and it’s time to fight.
And you know what it looks like to fight for your faith. It means allowing God to speak to you or forgive you. It means stepping out to live for God and to acknowledging God’s presence in your life. It means making the commitment to learn more about Jesus and to grow in your relationship with God, the church, and the world. It means stopping all the excuses and to start loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. You know what battle God is calling you to step into. Let go of what doesn’t matter and fight for what does.
Let go of what doesn’t matter and hold to and fight for what does. Better is one hand with tranquility than two hands with toil and chasing after the wind.
Better is one hand with tranquility than two hands with toil and chasing after the wind.
Next Steps
Better is One Handful with Tranquility
Memorize this week’s better verse: Ecclesiastes 4:6
Better one handful with tranquility, than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
How is always wanting more part of “original sin” and the story of Adam and Eve? Genesis 3
Read Jesus' warning about wanting more. Luke 12:13-21
One handful living starts by letting go of what doesn’t matter.
1. Cut Back
How has your spending and schedule gotten out of control?
Where can you cut back and experience some tranquility?
2. Throw Out
How has what you hold on to taken hold of you?
Where can you begin to downsize this week?
What can be donated or given away to those in need?
3. Turn Off
Identify one thing you can turn off this week. TV, news, social media, cell phones, car radio, gossip, bitterness, comparing yourself to others. Allow God to speak in the silence.
Now fight for what does matter!
What matters most in your life?
How can you need to fight for these things today?
