There's Something Bigger

A number of years ago, almost ancient history already, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks did a popular series of comedy sketches called the “2000 Year-Old Man” which developed into several hilarious albums (vinyl records). The premise has Carl Reiner interviewing Mel Brooks, playing the old man, inquiring concerns of life way back when. One such question asked by Reiner was, “Did you always believe in God?” Brooks, the old man, answered, “No. We had a guy in our village named Phil and for a long time we worshipped him.” Reiner wonders, “You worshipped a guy named Phil? Why?” The old man testifies, “Because he was big, and mean, and he could break you in two with his bare hands.” The interviewer asks, “Did you have prayers?” Brooks answers, “Yes, would you like to hear one? – ‘O Phil, please don’t be mean to us, or hurt us, or break us in two with your bare hands.’” Reiner: “So, when did you start worshipping God?” And then came this wonderful answer: “Well, one day this big thunderstorm came up, and a lightning bolt hit Phil. We gathered around and saw that he was dead. Then we said to one another, ‘There’s something bigger than Phil!’ “ There are a variety of things we look to as our gods – material things, immorality, climbing the corporate ladder, entertainment. Oh, I know, we may not call them our gods, but those are the things we build our lives around. That’s where a majority of our time, money and thoughts go. They serve as the center of our lives. But, there are times in our lives when we are reminded that – “There must be something bigger!” Like Solomon shares in the book of Ecclesiastes, we discover that nothing we fill our lives with can truly satisfy us and eventually we come to the realization that all of it will someday be gone. What then? There must be something bigger than success at work. There must be something bigger than collecting “things”. Whether they realized it or not at the time, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks made a very insightful observation. It is only when we see there is something bigger than all the things around us that we will truly begin to worship God.

[Psalm 13] “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemies triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemies will say, ‘I have overcome him,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me.” Throughout the history of these United States men and women have stood up and said, “There’s something bigger than this” and fought for their personal rights and the rights of others to be free and to exercise Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. It disturbs me that so many have been so willing to leave the shores of this country to fight for the rights of others and yet stand silent before a government that is systematically dismantling the rights of its citizens in favor of a socialist dictatorship. At the same time, I know the majority of the citizens of this God-fearing country know “There’s something bigger than this” and their prayers to God are not going unanswered. Amid the chaos of this world, God is bringing down the unrighteous because of earnest prayer. Don’t give up, and don’t give in. On this weekend of memorial to those who have sacrificed it all in the name of freedom, thank God for them, and pray for our leaders.