What value am I?: Part 1

Back in 1980,,Time Magazine featured a story about Peter Sellers,the well-known English actor. The article was about him appearing on the Muppet Show & being interviewed by Kermit The Frog. His interview began with Kermit telling Peter,”Now,just relax & be yourself.” Peter Sellers responded,”I can’t be myself because I don’t know who I am. The real me doesn’t exist.” Now I suppose that Peter Sellers was trying to be funny,because he was a comedian by trade. But on this particular occasion his words were anything but funny. In fact,they were rather sad. One of his long time friends,commenting on those words,said,”Poor Peter! The real Peter disappeared a long time ago. What he is now is simply an amalgamation of all the stage and screen characters he has ever played,and now he is frantically trying to unsnarl that mess and find out who he really is.”

I don’t know if Peter Sellers was ever able to unsnarl the mess or not,for just six months later he was dead. But whether or not he did,he wasn’t alone in his feelings. I’m convinced that many people go through life wondering who they are,and what they’re supposed to be doing,and where they’re going.

A long time ago David wrote a beautiful Psalm – Psalm 8 in the OT.If you know this Psalm,you can  picture young David sitting on a hillside outside of Bethlehem,gazing up at the moon and stars,his heart filled with the wonder of it all. Then taking out his harp,David begins to sing,and here are some of the words of his song:

“O Lord,our Lord,how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children & infants you have ordained praise. . .When I consider your heavens,the work of your fingers,the moon and the stars,which you have set in place,what is man that you are mindful of him,the son of man that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings & crowned him with glory & honour. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds,and the beasts of the field,the birds of the air,and the fish of the sea,all that swim the paths of the sea. O Lord,our Lord,how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:1-9)

As David looked up at the vastness of God’s universe,he felt his own smallness. So he asks God,”What is man that you are mindful of him?” – that You care about him?

It’s interesting to hear that Psychologists tell us that there are two major crisis periods in life. One comes during adolescence,and the other when we reach middle age.

During the early teens our bodies go through tremendous changes. We develop acne,and our feet seem awkward. Our voices begin to change. And as a part of the growing up process we begin thinking about who we really are,and what we’re going to do with our life. Now that’s adolescence!

Hope 103.2 is proudly supported by

Adults face some of the same problems during middle age,and we call it the “mid life crisis.” You see,our adult bodies go through changes,too. Our skin no longer has acne,but it loses its elasticity and develops all kinds of wrinkles.  Us men begin to lose our hair,and often start fighting the battle of the bulge. The print on the page gets smaller,and the lights seem to get dimmer.

ILL. But one middle age mother came to the conclusion that there was not a whole lot of difference between some of her physical problems and those of her teen age children. Take their eyesight,for instance. Both of her children seemed to have a real problem with their eyesight.

For example,her teen age son could look in a refrigerator full of food and say,”There’s nothing to eat.” Her daughter could open a closet full of clothing and complain,”I don’t have anything to wear.”

Psychologists tell us that birthdays with zeros behind them are often considered either a blessing or a curse. For instance,we look forward to the birthdays of 10,20,and 30 as stepping stones on the road to maturity. And the 70th,80th and 90th birthdays are seen as milestones to a triumphant old age.

But birthdays at 40,50,and 60 are not seen as milestones,but as millstones around our necks because that’s when we begin to realize that the battle between youthful strength and decay is being won by decay.

Snoopy,the dog in the Charlie Brown cartoons was stretched out on top of his doghouse saying,”I can hear my heart beating. I can hear my stomach growling. I can hear my bones creaking.” Then he complains,”My body is making so much noise that I can’t sleep.”

I feel that way sometimes,don’t you? I feel as if I’m losing the battle,and decay is winning. So before it’s eternally too late,it is important to find an answer to David’s question,”What is mankind that God is so concerned about us?” What are we,and where are we going?

The world gives us all kinds of answers. Some scientists tell us that we’re just accidents of nature,no more important than the cockroach that runs across the kitchen floor. But that kind of answer just doesn’t satisfy.