Collections

The staple items of most boys growing up in the Midwest suburbs were comic books and trading cards. I was no exception. My room was full of both. From my Daredevil comics to the rookie card of Archie Griffon, my collections were vast and growing. My friends and I made rules for trading: some of them were practical, while others were quite odd. Marvel comics were top, so to trade a Spider Man (Marvel) for a DC comic like Superman, would require a 2 for 1 trade.

Similar rules applied for trading cards. Topps cards were, well, tops. Sometimes Wonder Bread™ would put cards in their packages. These cards were kind of cool because they were 3-D, this was the only card that was a 1 for 1 trade for Topps. Hostess also used to put cards in their cartons of Ho Ho’s™ and Ding Dong’s™: they were cards that we wouldn't bother trading, because they had to be hand-cut. All-pro and rookie cards were all the highest rated cards. Then there were the wildcards: Wacky Packs™ were really popular with us, and then there were the Battlestar Galactica and the Six Million Dollar Man trading cards. All of these added a wrinkle to our trading experience.

We had block buster trades which may include multiple comics, some trading cards and an intangible like marbles or a balsa-wood glider. We even had occasions when a trade was misrepresented and we could bring the trade before our friends and let them decide if someone was cheated in the transaction. At the end of the day, our collections flourished, and that lame cardboard that they called bubblegum in the card packs was eventually chewed by all. It was our own small economic system, and we all loved it as much as the collections themselves.

There was something really pleasing about building your collections. There were a couple of our friends whose parents would just buy entire cartons of trading cards. These children had no need of trading because they already had all the cards available. They really missed out on something special. That’s not to say we were a little jealous of them: after all, it was work to inventory your cards and figure out what you were missing. It took time to figure out a trade worthy of obtaining a Mean Joe Green, or Pete Rose, still, the possibilities were dazzling and the opportunities were there and available.

Collections are a part of life and how we handle them can have dramatic effect on our quality of life. What do we collect in our heart? What do we treasure? What heirlooms do we clutch with all that we are? What do we trade off to attain what we perceive to be greater things? What value do we put on family? What do we put off to obtain ‘stuff’? What do we deem off-limits and protect with all our very life?

Solomon understood this. A man who had it all as far as worldly collections goes: money, castles, temples, horses, and let’s not forget the women. Looking reflectively, here is what the great collector says:

Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 (NIV)

2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."
3 What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

Wow! Now there is satisfaction! At the end of the long journey, Solomon looked back, and saw that these pursuits were ‘meaningless’. What about collecting worldly wisdom? Surely he would speak well of such endeavors:

Ecclesiastes 1:13-14 (NIV)

13 I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Strike 2! He goes on to show that the pursuit of riches, wealth, wisdom, advancement, and pleasure are all meaningless. At the twilight of his life, the folly of these endeavors was crystal clear to him. Interestingly enough, in the middle of this commentary, he writes the verses made famous by The Birds, summarized as everything in its due season (turn turn turn).

In chapter six, it all comes to a head. Solomon asks the defining question:

Ecclesiastes 6:12 (NIV)

12 For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?

There is a point to this gloom. Solomon, had to paint the picture for mankind to make the case for God. He intentionally left an important phrase out of his ‘meaningless’ mantra. Here it is: ‘compared to God's’. Chapter 8 makes it a little clearer:

Ecclesiastes 8:16,17 (NIV)

16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man's labor on earth—his eyes not seeing sleep day or night- 17 then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.

Solomon saw God in his glory and realized that our lives that are so incredibly important to us, are like a grain of sand on the beach compared to Gods. Our pursuit should be after Him, and in doing so be fulfilled in Him. Maybe Jesus said it a little more eloquently:

Matthew 6: 19, 20 (NIV)

19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Reflectively, these questions can be overwhelming, yet understanding them helps us to figure out what our true priorities are. God looks at our lives and He knows our needs and wants. Every item that we hide in our heart or mind, He has already assessed and has lovingly made a plan to help us deal with or equip us to attain these items.

What are we collecting? In the grand scheme of things is it really important? Is one million Terry Bradshaw rookie trading cards worth one soul? Only we can answer these questions.

God Bless
Doug