Majoring on the Minors!

And this is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. Philippians 1:9-10

There are many times in our lives when we have occasion to deal with the things which we consider of major importance. For instance, our Major in education is the field of study in which we decide to pursue our professional career. Some people choose to minor in a secondary or complementary subject to that field or maybe branch off into a specific hobby or interest. Majors are the subject areas that require commitment to complete for graduation. Minors just compliment the major.

Our lives are full of major occurrences which should receive most of our attention, but sometimes the minor irritations or commitments of life have a way of pushing themselves to the forefront. One of the dangers of this face paced world in which we live is that we become so preoccupied with incidentals, nonessentials and minors that we neglect the fundamentals, essentials, and majors. It is not enough to be busy and active to be alive. We need to be busy for a purpose, active for a cause, and living for an ideal.

Merry go rounds were the favorite part of a carnival which visited our small town once a year. It was probably the only ride where the scenery never changed. We could ride around and around, but in retrospect, all those trips around just revealed the same sights, and it got us nowhere. Life can be a lot like that feeling because we go and go but never arrive. We move all the time, but we get nowhere.

If it is the major things that are so important in life, then the question becomes, why do we spend so much of our lives dealing with the minors? Larry Love, an associate of Billy Graham, saw an unusual and striking advertisement in a subway station while in London. It pictured a very expensive and exclusive copy of a magazine. Underneath the pictures were these words, “Read by an overwhelming minority.” That’s a catchy and clever idea that is so often true.

It’s strange that in government and business the majority rules, but God’s business is often ruled by the minority. What then is the major thing in this life of ours? Is it power? Is it prestige, knowledge, friendship, influence, or popularity? When Randy and I were in high school, our senior class in our respective schools always voted on superlatives such as Most Popular, Friendliest, Most likely to Succeed, etc. Randy’s claim to fame has always been that he was Most Popular. I like to say, “That was then – this is now.” What was major is now minor.

The major thing in this life is that we have a relationship with God and that the welfare of our soul is secure. Everything else is incidental, nonessential, and minor. In other words, if we seek the majors then the minors will be added.

So how do we begin to major in the majors? First, I think we need to put first things first. Sift through the non essentials in life and get to the heart of what God would have us do.

Secondly, major in setting an example for others. The world is changed by our example not by our opinions. Our major should be pointing the world to Jesus not to self service.

Finally, major in love and forgiveness. We have to dwell on the majors that unite us as a family of God and not the minors that divide us.

During these next few weeks of Lent, my prayer is that we begin to dwell on the major things of life and major in them! When we do that, the minors will take a back seat in our lives.

“When God does not supply our motivation, we tend to major in the minors and minor in the majors.” Gary L. Thomas