I used to spend lots of time in the sun.
Long days doing construction work. I remember those glory days, no shirt and a great tan and who needs sunscreen. I remember each time the dermatologist removes small growths from my back.
It’s easier to get better (or more fun) short-term results when we don’t care about the long-term impact. Sunscreen, vegetables, and protecting the environment aren’t much fun. I’d rather have a tan, eat cookies, and drive a muscle car. Until a few years later when I have skin cancer, my pants don’t fit, and I can’t breath the air.
I thought about sunscreen and cookies a while back when someone suggested we could grow the FREEDOM TOUR if we de-emphasized the faith aspect. Apparently a lot of people want to ride and even support a worthy cause, but the Christian part turns them away.
I get it. If they’re turned off by organized Christianity, the hyper-politicized, coercive, rules-centered system focused on sustaining itself…I’m not interested in that nonsense, either.
But the FREEDOM TOUR isn’t about any of that. It’s about following Jesus.
Maybe we could make it bigger and better, in the short term, if we made it like every other ride-for-a-cause. Problem is, we’d be just like every other ride-for-a-cause.
Maybe there’s a middle ground…something to ponder. But as we ponder, we need to maintain long-term vision and priorities. No sense in stuffing ourselves with junk food and pretending there’s no price to pay.
Except Oreos. They’re fine.
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?”
Luke 9:25