Expiration dates ......

Do you realize how often you have to be concerned about when something will expire? You cannot charge anything with a credit card without a valid expiration date. At Coca-Cola one of the most important aspects of a salesman's job is product quality. He or she must rotate product so the oldest will sell first and product will not expire. A long time ago when Andy Griffin was just a radio comic he used to tell the story of Romeo and Juliet. My favorite line was when he used the expression "and he expired" for Romeo's death. All through one's career there is one eye on retirement, the expiration of all that goes with one's life at work (income, relationships, recognition, identity, etc.).

Everything seems to have an end. Everything appears to eventually expire. This raises the question of the futility of everything. What has staying power? Is anything forever? How can we really enjoy what we have if we know it will one day EXPIRE?

We go through the motions in life as if our vacation, our car, our home, our relationships, our health, .... will not end. Only until we approach the expiration date do we begin to "panic". Yet all along we know it will end. Low grades of anxiety filter in from the start. When we drive off the lot with that new car, we fear the first scratch. Even in our wedding ceremonies we say "til death do us part," admitting from the start that there is an end.

Why is it we give allegiance, our utmost loyalty to anything knowing it will expire? Isn't this what "idol" means?

Being a "good person" and doing all the "right" things seems to be the main message of our culture and religion. You can focus on "good vs evil" as the main challenge of the abundant and virtuous life. But shouldn't it be expiration dates that keep you up at night and drive you to your knees? You can put expiration dates out of your mind for a while. BUT, at some point you must ponder, not the evil of this world, but the futility of things till you personally embrace the Eternal.