Why does your life (and mine) often trend toward that which is trivial? Because the default mode of the human heart is bent toward triviality. Unless intentional action is taken, you are always going to lean in the direction of pursuing that which is trivial. Just as your computer settings will operate under their default mode unless directed by you to do otherwise, so will your life. It’s not hard to pursue triviality because you have naturally done it your whole life.
But what if there were some kind of work-around, intentional reset or deliberate action on your part to move away from triviality, to a life of meaning and purpose? What if you could push back against the default mode of the human heart so that you could live a life pursuing that which is significant and important? Here’s the good news: You are not destined to live a life of futility but a life of consequence as you engage the critical aspects of life on a day-to-day basis.
The premise behind escaping the trivial life is that God is not a trivial God, nor did He create humans for a life of triviality. Though we have all gone in search of our own ways down the road of rebellious triviality, God has intervened through the person of Jesus Christ. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus delivers those through faith who have been held captive to sinful triviality their whole lives. Jesus did not come to give you tips and tricks for meaningful living, but to overhaul and restructure your life from the inside out. The results are a God-consumed life that starts to form and grow as you become more and more like Jesus Christ who perfectly embodied the God-consumed life. Not only was He the perfect God-man but His one aim was to glorify God the Father in all that He did. Now, through faith in Jesus, you can live a God-consumed life in all that you do to the glory of the Father.
The opposite of the trivial life is what I want to call the weighty life. Don’t think in terms of physical weight but along the lines of things that are so important and valuable in life that they carry much “weight.” In the Bible, the concept of God’s glory is sometimes referred to in terms of weightiness. The term glory or Kabod in the Hebrew literally means “heavy” or “weighty.” When God is considered in all of His character and attributes, it could be called His glory. You could say that God in His fullness is “heavy” or “weighty”; His magnitude and worth far outweigh all else.
As you move away from the Trivial Life to the Weighty Life, you will live in such a way that brings attention to the value and worth of God. Psalm 86:9 says,
“All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O LORD,
and shall glorify your name.”
(Emphasis above is mine.) Honor and praise come to God from people who acknowledge Him in all of His glory and weightiness. Psalm 22:23 calls,
You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
God is distinct from His people, and they are to praise and ascribe glory and weight to Him alone. The weighty life showcases God in all of His perfections and glory.
A New Testament expression of the weighty life comes from 1 Corinthians 10: 31: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” This verse is more than a nice slogan, bumper sticker or refrigerator magnet. The weighty life will be God-consumed and seek to honor God and bring Him glory in all aspects of life. Colossians 3: 17 comes into play as well: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” The weighty life is God-focused and Jesus-centered in word, thought and deed.
The aim of the Christian life is to be transformed by grace so that you move further and further away from the trivial life into a full expression of the weighty life. If you find yourself closer to the trivial life of the bowler than the weighty life of Hal and Chris, you don’t have to be discouraged. Perhaps all you need is the slightest push to start moving in the direction of living a life filled with meaning and purpose. Think of a parent helping a little child release her first bowling ball down the lane. The ball moves so slowly but eventually it gets there. And sometimes it’s a strike. May your heavenly Father use the following pages to gently move you in the direction of the weighty life so that you will not only find meaning and purpose but ultimately bring Him glory.
from The Trivial Life: Escaping the Default Mode of the Human Heart by Jason S. Lancaster.