“The Pretender” by Jackson Browne
Ecclesiastes 2 24-26 (NIV): 24A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?
Matthew 6 19-21 (MSG): Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
If there was ever a song that captures life’s journey into just how easily we can become sucked into the mundane cycle of it all, it would have to be Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender.” Jackson somehow manages to capture the lifelong journey of giving birth to dreams with the imagination of a wild, youthful and unrestrained heart…only to find we have been taken captive and given in to the never ending and pointless chasing of “things.” The subject of this song looks like most of us on any given day if we are being honest. Jackson’s song reminds us that life is short and we are given choices every single day of how and what gets our heart.
We are in the middle of a war on any given day, often throughout the day. We might not be an active combatant, but we are most certainly a target. It’s a war of the mind. It is psychological warfare and the target is our money, time, energy, talents and focus. The spoils of this war include our heart, mind, and soul. The battlefield provides access to an unending amount of information at the literal blink of an eye. This access to so much information can serve a greater purpose. It can enlighten us, foster communication, or provide a forum for learning and exchanging ideas, all very good things. The problems arise when we start focusing on the things we see, but don’t have. Those who wage war in the battle for our hearts, minds and money want us to believe we MUST have those things if we are to be successful in this world. But not everything this world labels as “success” benefits us. Even “good” things can become detrimental when they become the focus of our heart. A lot of the things of this world are temporary. Fame, notoriety, houses, cars, 401Ks, political parties…dynasties and kingdoms. It all comes to an end eventually.
So, should we completely avoid these things? No, of course not. They are part of the world we live in and are simply the end results of the talents and gifts others have contributed to the world. In and of themselves they aren’t necessarily bad or corrupt. Wanting nice things isn’t inherently wrong or bad either. The trouble Jesus warned us about occurs when we allow our desires to command our focus because eventually our focus will dictate our practices. Jesus knew this. He didn’t say avoid the things in this world. He said to be prudent when choosing the things you place value on, the ones you consider “treasure.” He said the real treasure was in Heaven and comes from God, not the one being marketed to us through the lens of the consumer driven, attention craving world.
Jesus knew what mattered and invited us to put our focus on the treasure that wouldn’t rot, rust or be taken away. King Solomon knew and offered the same advice 1000 years before Jesus. Solomon acquired endless wealth and reigned as King of Israel wanting for nothing in this world yet came to the same conclusion, none of it mattered. Like so many of us, he sought meaning and understanding through the acquisition of things and status. His conclusion…follow God. It is the only thing he could find that gave meaning and purpose to a life that ultimately had the exact same ending for every single one of us. Live for God. The rest was pointless and, in his words, just “chasing the wind.”
Need further evidence? Consider the casualties of our own modern culture. How many entertainers, world leaders, or business tycoons amass fortunes, prominence, and notoriety only to turn to alcohol, drugs or worse as a means of escaping the world and all its temporary offerings. There’s plenty of proof around us that chasing the wind doesn’t satisfy the God given urge so many of us carry to find meaning and purpose in our lives. We don’t have to look to the celebrities or world leaders either. The casualties of this battle are all around us. Our neighbors, family, even us…we carry battle scars with names like anxiety, burnout, alcoholism, pornography, gambling, hording, and on and on and on. They can and often are the results of focus forcing direction, the wrong direction.
Whatever we accumulate on this earth cannot be brought with us once we make the journey to whatever awaits. If you believe there is something beyond this broken world and accept that it can be accessed through the one who paid for the one-way ticket, then take His advice: Acquire treasure and wealth that will await your arrival in Heaven. If you don’t know where to start, He offers a couple suggestions. Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. THAT is the treasure He asks you to stockpile. That is the heart and soul of the spender He desires in us all