Don’t Supersize Them

Scripture: Matthew 19.16-22; Genesis 22.1-14


Morgan Spurlock knows junk food. In fact he made it his goal to eat only McDonald’s burgers, fries, shakes, and cokes every meal, three times a day, for thirty days. At the end of his personal experiment he had gained thirty pounds, complained of fatigue and other ailments, and made an award-winning documentary about it all. “Supersize Me” is Spurlock’s take on the perils of eating too much junk food.

Is there, I wonder, a danger in consuming junk values? Is there a danger to us, and our kids, in getting “supersized” by the values of the culture – values like earn more money, validate yourself through work and achievement, put your own personal happiness first. Are these good values? Are these values that help us be human, help us be godly?

Someone comes up to Jesus and says, “Teacher, what must I do further to ensure my place in heaven?” The someone who asks that question is a product of his culture. He is a poster-boy for first century Judaism. He is good-looking, educated, articulate, influential, and morally grounded. The man could get elected for just about anything. And he knows it.

What’s interesting here is, Jesus knows that he knows it. That’s why Jesus asks the questions he does – they are questions that Jesus knows the young man will do well on. “I have kept all these.” On the SAT’s for religion, the man has a perfect score. He loves getting the right answer, particularly in front of a crowd of admiring people. Just to bask in his own glory a little longer, he says to Jesus, “Is there anything else?” fully expecting there is nothing else, nothing that he needs or lacks, or has failed to achieve. If I’m not perfect, I’m darn close, thinks the young man.. But Jesus surprises him and his crowd of admirers. “Oh, one more thing,” Jesus says, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell all that you own and give the money to the poor, so that you real treasure will not be here on earth but in heaven. Then come follow me.”

This young man couldn’t do it. At least not then. The Scripture says he went away grieving, sad and upset, because he loved his stuff. He loved his life and himself the way it was. He was a product of his culture and its values. He didn’t know Jesus was going to suggest there was something wrong with that. Do you know that I’m going to suggest there is something wrong with our cultural values?


What kind of values are we teaching our kids? Let me suggest a few. You must do well in school so that you can be self-sufficient. If you play sports, you should win, at the very worst, place. For all the lip service we give to sportsmanship and teamwork, kids know that “winner-takes-all” in the hearts of the public and maybe, their parents as well. If you doubt that this goes on, go to a high school football game, a hockey game, a Little League game. See if you can enjoy the game while Joe Parent is screaming at the coaches and the umpires.

Let me insert this caveat – am I saying that competition is all wrong? No. Am I saying that we shouldn’t want our kids to do their best? No. Pursuit of excellence, individually and as part of a team, is a noble and godly pursuit. But when rightly pursued, excellence is not only about the goal or the prize, but it’s also about, and maybe mostly about, what it takes to get there. Roger Clemens is a future Hall of Fame, Big league pitcher because he trains and prepares better than anyone else. He knows the value of hard work and discipline. The victories and the awards are a byproduct of the pursuit of excellence.

We can teach our kids who strive in the classroom, the vo-tech, in the band and on the soccer team, that how we go about conducting ourselves toward our goal is as important as the goal itself.

Now, I need to make a confession – I want my boys to succeed. There is a part of me that wants them to be first in everything. I want them to be liked. I want them to be cool. But you know what? That’s not what Jesus wants for them. Jesus wants them to give their best, not to us, not to sports, not to making money, not to this world – to him. God said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, and offer him as a sacrifice on the mountain.” Do we trust God enough to let him have everything about our kids? Is the Father in heaven trustworthy to us?

Sometimes as a pastor and as a youth pastor I fear that the picture of faith that we give our children and youth is that it’s just one more building block of success, it’s badge that you earn. It’s a trophy for your bedroom shelf. And this attitude in us parents is evident every time cultural values and activities take precedence over spiritual growth. You know, we can’t be in church too often because we have this game, this concert, this trip to make. We feel like we’re being balanced in our parenting and we are shaping balanced kids. There’s something to be said for that. But again, Jesus wants disciples on are radical, sold-out, countercultural, and deeply in love with Him. From the cultural perspective that looks decidedly unbalanced.

Donald Miller says that’s not very fashionable or cool these days. “The problem with Christian belief- I mean real Christian belief ,the belief that there is a God and a devil and a heaven and a hell – is that it is not a fashionable thing to believe.

Another one of our cultural values that we are pretty proud of is “Passion.” As long as someone is passionate about something, then it’s a good thing. Doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are passionate about it. Again Miller writes, “Passion is tricky, though, because it can point to nothing as easily as it points to something. If a rapper is passionately rapping about great his rap is, his passion is pointing to nothing. He isn’t helping anything. His beliefs are self-serving and shallow. . .What people believe is important.

I want you to pause and think about that last sentence. What people believe is important. What our kids believe is important. And as someone who talks to kids and listens to kids express what they believe, I can tell you , they believe some righteous and beautiful things. They also believe some pretty ignorant, shallow, and messed up things. All of which to say is, they are like you and me – they need to grow some more.

But what message do we communicate when we put the development of fastball or a musical instrument ahead of the nurture of spirituality, faith, and character? I’ll tell what we communicate – it doesn’t matter what you believe.

Someone once said that what we do is really what we believe. And if we’re honest, many times our lives communicate this belief – I am the most important person in the world. It’s all about me.

Is this the belief that we want to shape our kids with? Do we want to feed our kids junk values? Do we want to make little clones of the excesses of our culture? Or do we want to shape them with the belief that a loving and passionate relationship with Jesus Christ will set them free to become truly human and truly full of the life that never ends?

The other week I talked about the birth our my first son and what a memorable day for me it was. It was one of my best days. There’s something I didn’t tell you about that experience. When I held Seth in my arms for the first time and I called him by name, I got on one knee with him and I prayed this prayer:

Lord, thanks for this amazing gift that I hold in my arms. Thank you for Seth. Protect him. Help him to grow strong. I also ask this one thing: I don’t care, Lord, if he grows up to be rich or successful. I just want him to grow up to have a heart for you God. That’s all I ask for.

I thought that was a good prayer then and I think it is a good prayer now. As you go to prayer, will you pray that prayer for your son or daughter? Will you pray that for our children and grandchildren in this church?