The Missing Why

In elementary school I learned that the letter "y" is unusual because it can be used either as a consonant (as in "yellow" and "yak") or as a vowel (as in "psychology" and "scythe"). "Y," it turns out, is quite an important letter. Take out the "y," and "joy" is incomplete. So are words like busy, ready, and happy. You can't even spell "you" without remembering "y."

Yet every day, countless people try to live with a missing "why." The hassled commuter fights traffic on the way to work and groans aloud as she considers how she'll spend her day. The busy executive makes million-dollar decisions but secretly wishes for five minutes of peace. Married couples exist together but have forgotten what attracted them to each other in the first place.

The missing "why" even afflicts the church. On Sunday morning, things look like business as usual on the outside, but God sees that hollowness has replaced holiness. Purposeless Christians are powerless Christians. Sometimes the motivations are gone, but the motions go on.

How could Jesus face the misery of Calvary? He remembered why! He endured the cross "for the joy set before him" (Hebrews 12:2). How could the apostle Paul keep serving Christ faithfully even when his daily work meant persecution and pain? He remembered why! "Christ's love compels us," he said (2 Corinthians 5:14). How could the aging apostle John keep writing about the truth and love of Christ even when anti-Christian forces threatened God's people? He remembered why! "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

Are you or your church plagued by the missing "why"? Consider my little story I call "The Parable of the Shoe Factory."

Once there was a big, busy place Where they made fine shoes at a most rapid pace.

The workers all knew that they were there To create fine shoes with the utmost care. They crafted boots and shoes complete With leather soles for weary feet.

But eventually, a problem rose. The cobblers' boss stepped on some toes. The slipper shapers felt the heat. The leather stretchers stomped their feet.

The polishers refused to shine. The sole sewers all began to whine. The lacers went on strike in the spring,

Complaining, "We can't live on a shoestring!"

And before you knew it, that big, busy place, Where they made fine shoes at a most rapid pace, Was filled with debaters promoting their views. But there was one problem. No one made shoes!

Oh, there were loafers And sneakers in ready supply. But those were the workers who loafed and sneaked by!

And so, while the shoemakers scuffled like thunder, It appeared that the shoe factory soon would go under.

Until one man, a heeler, said, "Folks, here's some news. We're not here to quarrel; we're here to make shoes!"

So the heeling department began work again. And the sewers and polishers and lacers did too.

And it wasn't long till that big busy place Again made fine shoes at a most rapid pace.

And so, fellow Christians, the lesson is clear: We all must remember why we are here. Our gripes must not overshadow our goals. We may not make shoes . . . But we're here to save "souls"!