NEXT TO A SLEEPING BOY

This weekend I took my son, David, who is 7, on a Father/Son Retreat. My wife and I weren't sure it was going to be a smart thing to do. You see, I was also doing the music and worship leading at it as well. Overall, we had a very memorable time. It was probably the first time in many months that David and I have had such in-seperable time together. The first night as we were getting ready for bed he looks at me and says, "Daddy, I love you so much! I'm so glad to be here with you."
I melted into the bed after that.
However that is not the main subject of my post.
As we drove home yesterday, the poor tyke slept most of the way. I think the weekend peetered him out pretty good.
This quiet drive gave me a chance to think. I travel quite a bit which gives me a lot of thinking time.

I was thinking about ART and SPORTS. I have many friends, across the country, who are involved with Art in one form or another. When I was growing up in Northern Wisconsin, Art was basically an afterthought to many people my age. Most kids were respected and liked if they were either in sports or something connected to sports. Theater, Art , music were all considered extra-curricular activities that were good for those who weren't good enough to tackle, wrestle, dribble, or slapshot. I, myself, was a wrestler for 7 years throughout grade school and Jr High. I mainly did this so I could be like my older brother who went on to wrestle in Nationals at the High school level. It wasn't until my Jr. year that I realized it wasn't for me. I completely quit sports all together and poured myself into music and theater. There was no turning back. Now I am 34 and it seems like the Arts have made quite a stride in the teen culture since my own adolescence. We have quite a few high school kids coming to the Camp I work at and it seems that Art, in some ways, has surpassed sports as far as numbers of kids that are involved. There are more poems being written, more bands being formed, more paintings being painted, etc....This camp, however, is located in small town Northern Wisconsin where, to the locals, sports is still the religion of the day.
Before I drove home yesterday from the retreat, I was able to watch the 2nd half of the Packer game where the Vikings bitterly won with a field goal with only 2 seconds left on the clock.
The statistics in Wisconsin are that domestic abuse goes up after a Packer loss.
Which brings me to my point.

It's amazing to me the things in life that we make an "end in themselves". I am obviously thinking of 2 areas, Sports and Art.
I am a Christian. I believe in the passage in Colossians that says .."For by him (Jesus) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
This tells me that there is only one entity that has an end in itself, God. Therefore, everything else, in order to have meaning, has to somehow come back to Him. Not that it has to be explained as such but in truth and content, it has to correlate with His essence and truth. I know this is controversial with some, however, it is the only concept that makes sense to me. I have come to the conclusion (on paper) that there is no worth in anything unless it eventually points back to Christ and truth. (which are one and the same) The contradiction of that would be that Jesus has His own little compartment that He stays in called religion and that it's only one facet of many this life has to offer. I know many people who live this way. Sunday is good for religion but they don't think it should affect the rest of their life. That completely go against the idea that He is before all things and that in Him all things hold together.
So here's the rub. When I see myself not living it. Irecently read a passage out of Chronicles about an 8 year old King of Israel deciding to follow God and of how he cleansed the land of the Asherah poles and High places of idol worship. He got rid of the things that people found as and end in themselves besides God. Many kings were unwilling to do such things because the culture of the day wouldn't let them.
My conclusion, Art is goodif not great thing. Sports are good, if not a great thing. But they are not ends in themselves. Only gods can be and they are not gods. I pray that the one true God will continue to give me the wisdom to get rid of the High places in my life.
As I glance over at my son, sleeping next to me in the passenger seat with his favorite little blanket wrapped around his lap and his favorite stuffed dog in his arms, I can't help but be embraced by meaning. And it leads me to worship.

Let me add an important annendum. I am not promoting or excusing lack of quality in Art and/or un-inspired creativity. There is art out there that is not excellent and some of it even is conncected to God and Jesus. I know that God knows the heart of an individual and that He might be pleased if it is the best they can do. But most of the time, bad art is influenced by agendas that, in my book, acoomplish very little.