Difference Between a Try and a Triumph
I must admit that I have always enjoyed Terry Wogan’s gentle humour and have not yet adapted to Chris Evans’ somewhat more frenetic style in the morning. He has obviously improved with age and, mostly, is no longer the foul mouthed, irresponsible hell raiser of his early days in television. I will continue listening and see if he grows on me. I was struck one morning this week when I heard him say the only difference between a try and a triumph is a little oomph and, predictably, it set me thinking. At present we are looking at trying to change and bring about growth but are we really putting as much oomph into the process as we might?
The snow, which was really trying and the only subject discussed for days, now seems a distant memory. On the otherwise defrosted surgery lawn is one last reminder in the form of a diminishing heap of the white stuff. Dotted with a couple of sticks at odd angles and some stones, it is all that remains of a monster snowman. When it is gone what will be its legacy, what will there be to mark something that was so all consuming? It reminds me of hearing Billy Cotton Jnr say of his famous father, recently dead, that within a generation no one would remember him. It would be like putting your hand into a bucket of water, when you withdrew it there would be no sign to show it had ever been there.
When we are gone will we have made our mark, will there be anything to commemorate our existence? Would a bit more oomph have turned our trying to triumph? In these days of reality television, celebrity magazines and short attention spans, Andy Warhol’s 1968 comment that anyone can be famous for fifteen minutes can be seen to be true, but once the fifteen minutes is over what is left? Andy Warhol’s was not actually a new concept.
When the Disciples started their ministry (Acts 5) their actions were the talk of the town. Naturally they came to the attention of the Chief Priests who, feeling threatened, wanted to quash the movement as quickly as possible but one man, Gamaliel, spoke up. He said if the Disciples were merely a cult they would fade away, any punitive action would make them martyrs but if the Disciples were right and Jesus was the Son of God the cause would continue whatever the Sanhedrin did and they could suffer for their own actions.
Doing what God wishes is far more rewarding than any ego-boost of this world. We should not be seeking self-aggrandisement but the furtherance of the Kingdom of God. The difference between celebrity culture and God’s work is in the foundations. Fame in this life is built on sand and quickly washed away whilst God’s Word is a solid rock (Matt.7:24-27). When we are called to account for our actions in this life it will not be enough to reply with a half-hearted “I tried”, we need to have given.
