King of the Hill

When I was younger growing up in MN, during winter after a large snowfall had settled and after the plow went through the cul-de-sac, which left a huge mound of snow, all the neighborhood kids would get together and play king-of-the-hill, the purpose of the game? The purpose was to get to the top of the giant snow mound and well, stay there. This means there was a lot of pushing, shoving, snow balls, and rolling around, quite fun I must say. The problem with being on top was that everyone else was trying to dethrone you, so in the end, no one could really stay on top for long. In The Pursuit of God A.W. Tozer tells us that the same game, though far greater in importance and consequence, occurs in each of our hearts. He states,

“Within the human heart “things” have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer, but there in the moral dusk stubborn and aggressive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne.”

Where is the rest, the peace, the calm? Sadly, there is none, or if there is, it is but temporary. We are restless, unsatisfied, always in search of some ‘thing,’ that next tech gadget, cell phone, clothes, promotion, relationship, the list goes on! We tell ourselves, “Just this one time I’ll do this, I’m in control, I could stop if I wanted to,” or, “I deserve this, I’ve worked too hard and everyone else has the new (fill in the blank).”

Friends, it is some One that must direct our attention, resources, and desire. It is never God ‘and,’ but simply God. Have you ever prayed for a job, the job that would make everything better? And yeah, it was sweet for a while, but how long before it became just another job? ‘Things’ let us down, people let us down and until we internalize this truth, our hearts will never be satisfied unless we expel and rip out every inkling and yearning to possess. This I believe is summed up when Jesus commands those wishing to be his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” We must deny ourselves, our selfish craving to be in charge, and instead, take up God’s will, trusting that He will lead us most righteously, shaping our lives to be Christ-like. Let not the things of this world draw our attention and woo us with their empty promises, but let the God of all draw us closer, so that things become peripheral and fall from our throne, so that He may reign there in glory.