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Paul Smithson
A while back I read a news article about Joe W., an
eighteen year old of Tampa, FL. The article stated that Joe
"enjoyed drawing and fishing and kept his body in top
condition." Joe kept himself pretty busy, spending time with
his girlfriend, working a full-time job, and going to school
three nights a week to improve his career.
One evening he went to visit his girlfriend at work, but
she had left. He then drove to the top level of a parking
garage, parked his car and shot himself in the temple with his
father's 22-caliber pistol.
His family and friends were shocked at what had happened.
Joe was the youngest of three children in a stable, middle-class
family. He was popular. He earned average grades in school.
He had a car and a credit card. "He had everything," his father,
Robert, said. "Maybe too much."
As I read Joe's father's statement, I thought, 'Did Joe
really have "everything"?' Sure, he had a car, a full-time job
and was making plenty of money. He was popular, had a
girlfriend, and was going to college...Yes, from the viewpoint
of the world, I guess Joe did have what seems to be
EVERYTHING.
However, when one takes off the rose-tinted glasses the
world looks through, what can one see that Joe really had? What
did Joe have spiritually? What did his family and friends show
him spiritually?
After Joe's death his mother found some depressing poems
that he had written. They were poems that showed Joe felt
something was missing in his life. One stated, "Searching for
someone I can't find, I leave my life behind..."
Joe's mother said, "He was in a dark pit with no way out. I
don't know how he went on as long as he did." I agree that Joe
was in a depressed condition-- he was in a "dark pit." But I
disagree with his mother's statement that there was "no way
out." The way out for Joe was the very thing that was really
missing in his life, and that was God.
The wise man declared, "Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man's all" (Eccl. 12:13). When we fail to do this
there is no doubt that there is going to be an empty void in our
life.
Jesus warns, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for
one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he
possesses" (Lk. 12:15). Joe had a car and money, but he did not
have contentment (see 1Tim. 6:6). He had a job, a girlfriend,
and popularity, but he did not have "the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding" (Philip. 4:6-7). Joe, it seems,
had a lot of things, but he lacked that which matters most.
Do you have everything?
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