“Precious”
Watch
Listen
Read
“We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious.” — Gollum
Reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, I fell in love with a strange little creature named Gollum. He was funny and relatable, but also seemed a bit crazy as he obsessed over a ring (his “precious”) and talked to himself.
What We Tell Ourselves
Talking to yourself can seem silly, if not insane. But in a way, we’re always in dialogue with ourselves (though we don’t usually do it aloud). Sometimes we call this “thinking to ourselves.” That’s how Jesus describes the internal dialogue of a guy we now call “The Rich Fool.” As the man saw the excellent yield his farm produced, he “thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’” (Luke 12:17). So he had a talk with himself, and together they worked out a plan! It was his retirement plan.
Every one of “him” in the conversation seems to share a single concern: his pleasure. How nice to have such a unity of thought! Let’s listen in on the conversation they have:
“And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry’” (Luke 12:19).
Like Gollum, this man wanted what he wanted, and when he spoke to himself, it was about his favorite subject: himself! If you’re bold enough to look under the hood and examine your self-talk, prepare to learn some hard truths about what you value. Eavesdropping on yourself is not for the faint of heart.
What God Tells Us
Sometimes the best thing that can happen to our inner dialogue is for God to insert himself into the conversation, and that is how Jesus’ story of the Rich Fool ends. “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’“ (Luke 12:20).
We like to convince ourselves we won’t die, to tell ourselves not to think about dying, to distract ourselves from the reality of death all around us. God’s voice wants to break into your thoughts too. He would remind you of a hard truth: you are mortal (James 4:14-16). Pay attention to those private talks. What are you telling yourself about your life? Are you clutching your “precious” treasures or investing your life in the lasting words of God? Do you live with the fact that some unexpected night, your soul will be required of you? Pretending death isn’t around the corner for all of us, now that’s crazy.
May the Lord interrupt our thoughts with his Word today, and direct our meditations with his precepts more precious than gold (Ps. 19:10, 14).
