Sermon from July 5, 1998

Sermon "Put the Big Rocks in First"
Rev. Lonnie Richardson
Sunday, July 5, 1998

Put the Big Rocks in First

This weekend we celebrate the two hundred and twenty-second anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress declared the 13 British colonies in America to be free and independent states. The lofty idealism expressed in this document must have seemed an idle boast to those in power across the waters, but to those like Patrick Henry, who declared that "There is a just God who presides over the destiny of nations," and Thomas Jefferson, who declared that their inalienable rights "are endowed by their Creator," it was a profession of faith!

Who would have guessed that a small and fragile people could survive against the forces of one of the strongest nations on earth? But the Declaration concluded on a strong note of hope; "With a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." And so, in a spirit of confidence in God, in their cause, and in one another, they declared their independence. And our nation was born.

Freedom! Its what we celebrate this weekend. It was three years ago, the first Sunday of July, that I began my ministry with you in the free church tradition.

Throughout the history of the United States most of our conflicts have been about freedom. Even the greatest of our conflicts the Civil War was about freedom. Then there was workers rights and women's suffrage. The wars we have fought have always been, at least in the popular mind, about setting people free.

So we celebrate that freedom this weekend. But what is freedom? And what do we do with it? We have been given great freedoms in this country and we need to ask ourselves how we use the freedom we have.

To the founders of the United States freedom was an action away from the tyranny of government. It was about the people telling the government what to do instead of the government telling the people. It was about being free to worship or not worship God as one saw fit. It was about being free from excessive taxation. It was about being able to say what you think without fear of being thrown in jail.

And for the most part we experience those freedoms in the United States. But are we truly free? Are people stuck in a cycle of poverty really free? Are people ensnared by materialism really free? Are fearful people who lock the world out either physically or mentally really free?

We Americans may be more free from government intrusion than other nations but we are really enslaved. Some are slaves to prosperity. Some are slaves to desires. Some are slaves to fears. Some are slaves to the despair of not living as courageously as one know they could?

What does the Bible says about freedom? It says, "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"(Galatians 5:13-14) according to the Bible freedom is not license to do what one wants. It is an opportunity to make room for God.

A while back I was reading about an expert on subject of time management. One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz."

Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.

Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?" By this time the class was onto him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" He replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?" "No!" The class shouted. Once again he said, "Good!"

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!" "No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: if you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."

What are the 'big rocks' in your life? A project that you want to accomplish? Time with your loved ones? Your faith, your education, your finances? A cause? Remember to put these big rocks in first or you'll never get them in at all.

The greatest gift of freedom is opportunity to make decisions of value and put the big rocks in first. Let your freedom free you to serve God. Amen.

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