Some time ago, the board game Trivial Pursuit was introduced on the market. The game, which now has a 25th anniversary edition, became a huge success and is still enjoyed by people young and old. One can play the board game, an online version, a version for various electronic game systems, and even one for the iPod. It's been two TV game shows and even the subject of a TV movie. The game has turned into a reliable money-maker for its manufacturer, Hasbro, and when you go to the Hasbro website, you can browse through three pages containing some 22 Trivial-Pursuit-related games and items. Basically, each player advances by correctly answering general-knowledge and popular-culture questions in easy, medium, or hard categories. I've played the game, and it's a hoot.
However, my concern is not about a harmless game, but whether people, Christians specifically, spend too much time in other forms of trivial pursuit.
If you've been a Christian for any length of time, chances are you've heard a sermon or two about being faithful, having conviction, and forging ahead toward heaven. And, you'll probably hear many more such sermons as your life progresses. The reason is simple: We are too easily distracted.
The Bible mentions some things of weighty concern to which we ought to pay attention, but warns us that those important things can take our focus away from what should be our main purpose. Among them are family (1 Corinthians 7:32-35), household duties (Luke 10:38-42), and business (Matthew 13:22). While these are important priorities, could it be that Christians lose their direction for far lesser things?
In our recreation-driven culture, more and more people expect me time. We want to make sure we have fun, so we buy video games, DVDs, computers, and ATVs; we also plan vacations, go to the movies, etc. None of these things is inherently wrong, but at what cost do we indulge our need for recreation? Do we sacrifice time we should be spending with God in Bible study and prayer for that ever-important me time? Jesus warned about those who are "choked with worries and riches, and the pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity." (Luke 8: 14)
The same could be said about worldly Christians who pursue relationships with the opposite sex only to fall prey to the temptation of physical attraction. One of the saddest things to witness is a young, single girl coming forward at church with a slightly bulging belly and the sad confession that follows. Paul reminds, "... this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is that you abstain from sexual immorality" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Yet, so many people, young and not so young, fall into the pit of satisfying this fleeting desire for pleasure that sanctification is all but lost.
Other trivial pursuits could be mentioned: selfishness, covetousness, ego, social position, and disrespect (Proverbs 28:22-27) to name a few. But the warnings about keeping our focus sharp and our perspective clear ring loudly throughout Scripture: "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33); "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth .. , but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven ... for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6: 1921; "One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to meditate in His temple." (Psalm 27:4); " ...one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)
Playing Trivial Pursuit is fun, but allowing this life's trivial pursuits to overshadow our purpose as God's people is quite another thing. Be purposeful people who reach toward heaven showing God you love Him with "all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30)