What really matters for you?

I am making a slight change as a new month has rolled around. On alternate days I will be (1) considering some well-known quotation from a Christian world-view, and (2) reflecting on some biblical phrase/idea/passage that God has recently brought to my attention. Whatever response you might have would be helpful.

​I’m not quite sure what made the following quotation by Goethe grab my attention as it did, but I continue to ponder it and its relevance for a number of issues of importance today. He said, “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”  
       Well, lets begin with what is happening in our political world. I recognize the importance of the larger issues and am amazed at the amount of time given by the media to what Goethe would certainly call “things that matter least.” It appears to me that the national topic for conversation has turned from matters of genuine significance (immigration, fiscal irresponsibility, health care, etc.) to who said what, why did he say it, and where was it said. I would hope that national leaders would address those issues that affect, probably determine, our future rather than incidentals related to their personal concerns.
       How did it all happen? How could a nation that has flourished on the basis of its commitment to personal freedom find itself increasingly under the control of restrictions that promote decline? In fact how can we look at ourselves in the mirror of life and see, not the youthful vigor of yesterday’s view of life, but the tired old approach to life that eventually leads to a sort of fatal numbness?   
       But let’s move Goethe’s observation into the life of a Christian. I would ask here as well, what is it that matters most and to what extent does it control our outlook on life? Is our energy being drained by a pathological concern to possess, or do we direct it toward those things that are of concern to our heavenly father. How would you categorize yesterday’s expenditure of time and energy? “Things that matter most” or “things that matter least?” Do you remember the old gospel song, “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” 
       I do not mean simply to be critical, but I do believe, whether on a personal or a national basis, that every generation holds in their hands the wellbeing of all who follow. Here in America we are the ones who benefit from the wise choices and diligence of those who came before. If one believes in morality at all there has to be concern about the well being of those who will bear the fruit of our integrity, or lack thereof, as it relates to those things that matter. And what is true on the national scene is even more relevant in family affairs.  Although Goethe was not by any means an evangelical Christian (in fact, he was uniformly anti-Christian and held the bible to be the most dangerous book ever put together), what he had to says is extremely relevant to us as Christian adults as well as American citizens. Let’s do our best, insofar as possible, to redirect our energies to “those things that matter most.”