Most of us have heard the line, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” I first heard it from one of the swimming instructors at the University of Memphis. He was also an elder in our church.
Once you hear it, it makes sense. We lose our focus. We get distracted. We major on minors. We need to get back on track.
But I have one additional problem. I forget the line. I forget that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. When I remember it, I know what to do.
So consider this “What’s the Point?” today’s reminder to remember that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
Psalm 127:2: It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.
What’s the Point?
Many of us overwork. We work all day and sometimes late into the night. With our hand-held technology, our work goes with us. Yet many of us experience work the same way as the Psalmist. Working all the time is like living on a diet of anxiety and long hours. It makes your spirit puny.
The end of the line hints at another option. The “he” is God. No matter how hard you work, all rest and rejuvenation comes from outside. Significance is generally not found in work, but in the one who renews our spirits and restores our soul.
It is not that we quit working, but that we quit looking to our toil for significance and renewal. That comes only from above. The first line of the Psalm reveals a critical life truth: “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”
NRS Isaiah 41:10 do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
What’s the point?
Are you looking for a gift for the person who seems to have everything money can buy? Give Isaiah 41:10. The prophet writes to people filled with despair who are about ready to give it all up. They don’t think they can go on. Bible scholars call this a salvation oracle. It is a recurring form in the Old Testament where the writer offers assurance that God is on our side.
You don’t have to be afraid. God is there.
If you are facing a tough life, Dr. Isaiah says, read this passage three times a day. Use it until the despair goes away.
