Original: October 21, 2007
McMinnville, OR
4 But I said, "I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand, and my reward is with my God." Isaiah 49:4
I have written extensively about the positive experiences surrounding my wilderness hunt in Eastern Oregon so now let me take a minute to tell you about one of the biggest mistakes I made. I knew the weight of our hunting packs could be an issue with a hard 5 mile climb of more than 2,500 feet of elevation gained, ending at around 8,000 feet above sea level. In order to shave off some pounds we brought enough food for 4 nights and four days, leaving three days worth of rations at the truck. My thoughts were that we might want a break about halfway into the hunt and second, we could "just walk out" if we needed anything.
Just walk out? I will never do that again!
Once we completed the grueling hike into the Strawberry Wilderness where we would live for the next four days I knew that the ten mile round trip hike would only happen once! So after four days our food was gone and so were we. The bummer was that we left with 4 inches of fresh snow on the ground making a huge hunting error in walking out just as it was getting as good as it gets. Snow is the ultimate equalizer while hunting but with no food we were neutralized-lesson learned. Can you imagine walking out five miles only to grab two, one gallon bags of food (a bag contains one day’s food rations), turn around and walk 5 more miles back in!
It was an exercise in futility, and stupidity, that I was not willing to correct.
There is a futility of self that we see almost every day of life. Most people, myself included, invest their lives building personal equity for no other reason but themselves. I am fortunate to live in location where hard work pays off in the form of disposable income. People are constantly building bigger homes, larger remodels, and living higher on the hill in an attempt to upgrade their portfolio. There is a vanity, a futility, in wasting a man’s strength to gain a "social status." A status that is temporal, finite, and fleeting. Like high school popularity, this kind of “status" is that intangible that does not matter anywhere but in the minds the people who pursue it.
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
Wisdom rejects this vain pursuit to say, "my reward is with God" (4). A man’s strength is limited to his capacity so he must be wise in how he chooses to spend it. Will he pursue the futility of self that ultimately confesses, "I have toiled in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing but vanity" (4). Or, will he spend his capacity on the infinite, eternal rewards that only God offers to those who spend their capacity wisely. A man is the product of how he spends his life and what he spends his life in pursuit of.
Your life and how you spend it are your choice, choose wisely.
