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The Trigger That Ignites Your Interest

You need a trigger to create excitement for something you haven’t really cared much about. 

the trigger that ignites your interest

You can get interested in something that you wouldn’t normally be focused on, but you first need something that will peak your interest. 

Way back in high school the TV was a magnet for me. I would come home after school, grab three or four cookies from the tin my mom had hidden, and flop on the couch to watch television. 

We only had a black and white TV so I was not watching in “living colour” as NBC advertised. One of my favourite shows was Perry Mason, so it didn’t matter that we only had a black and white TV. That show was filmed in black and white. It was a who-done-it show where Perry Mason, the lawyer, defended the cases. He always won.

At some point they changed the time of the show to a half hour later. Instead of coming home and doing homework, or something crazy like that, I just watched whatever was on before my show. 

I had never seen a soap opera before, but with a half hour to kill before Perry Mason, I started watching the “Edge of Night” …  da da da dum. 

Something I had had no interest in suddenly caught my interest and, for a while, I religiously followed the Edge of Night and knew all the characters.

The trigger for me was that I had time to kill before watching what I really wanted to see. I got sucked into watching what was before it and I got hooked – interested. 

The same thing has happened to me with the FIFA World Cup this month. 

When I was in college, I played soccer … or football as they say in the rest of the world. In fact, my college team won the Saskatchewan Provincial Championships in 1984. We went on to play in Toronto at the National College Championships. I was injured most of the season that year but I did get in a little action in one of the games.

So I know soccer. Also both my kids played some soccer and I watched them play in high school. 

… But I have to tell you, it’s not my favourite sport. 

I didn’t mind playing it, but watching it is tiresome. The biggest reason is they don’t score enough goals. The goals that are scored are often spectacular and the skill is amazing, but they just don’t score enough for me. 

So I’ve never really gotten too exited or interested in the World Cup before.

But this year is a different matter. Canada had a team in the tourney and, all of a sudden, I’m into soccer. 

I’m watching highlights of games. I’m watching games that Canada is not even playing in. 

Basically it took Canada making it into the World Cup for me to have enough interest in the game to get excited about it.

Team Canada was my trigger.

Here’s the thing: Life is full with all our activities, work and interests. If God has not been part of your life from an early age, it might be hard to get excited about Him. But there are triggers that can cause us to consider God and then become interested in knowing more about Him. Triggers like discouragement, trouble, heartbreak, sadness, stress and other things can cause us to look for help outside ourselves. Some of these things will come to all of us at some time in our lives. Be sure to seek God for help and comfort and you will find you want to know more about Him and His love for you. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has triggered your interest lately? Leave your comments and questions below.

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A Momentary Action Can Change Your Life

A momentary action can make a huge impact on one’s life. The repercussions of that action can have long-lasting effects.

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Let me tell you about it …

This week as I was playing hockey, I crossed the blue line with the puck. A defender was right in front of me so I made a quick direction change in hopes that he would zig to my zag.

It took probably less than an second; it was just a subtle move to give me some free ice to keep moving forward.

That move may not have fooled my opponent, but it sure fooled my back. Immediately I felt a tweak down low near the base of my spine.

“Whoa!” I thought, “This doesn’t normally happen.” But I also recognized the feeling which brought a truckload of memories to my mind.

This was not the first time a momentary action had caused some pain in my back.

It started about three years ago when I was mountain biking on vacation. I carry a folding saw in my backpack to take care of small trees that have fallen across the path.

This particular summer there was a big tree too high to go over, too long to go around. I needed to get rid of it. It was too big for my saw but I thought I would just saw a little every day until I got through it.

I worked on it for a couple of days but then got impatient. I jumped on it … nothing. I kicked at it … again, nothing. So I put my arms around it and yanked.

It was a momentary action, but it sent a sharp pain to the base of my spine that left me lying on the floor of our trailer for about four days.

Since then, there has been a couple of other instances that a momentary action has given me the same result.

One time I bent down to pick up a knife I had dropped on our kitchen floor. That led to some more flat out time for me.

All these memories came back to me the moment I felt the tweak in my back. I went to the bench and stretched a little. And then a curious thought was planted in my brain: “Maybe I can just work it out by playing the rest of the game.”

So I did, but I spent the next two days pretty much flat out on my bed. The rest of the week, I’ve been moving pretty slowly. I’m hoping to be able to stand and preach on Sunday without any twinges of pain and without seizing up.

One momentary action about three years ago has now weakened my back so that new momentary actions continue to make a big impact on me.

Here’s the thing: Coming to faith in Christ is like a momentary action. It’s a decision to turn from self-rule to Christ’s rule in your life. There may be many factors that have contributed to that momentary decision, let alone the years it may have taken to get to that point. But in one moment you are changed and the impact of that change has long-lasting effects, right into eternity. You can also expect other momentary actions, triggered by the first one, that will cause more long-lasting effects as God continues to mould you and shape you into His image.

I don’t recommend the momentary action that caused my back issues, but I do encourage the momentary decision to give your life to Christ. You won’t regret those effects!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What momentary action has left long-lasting effects on you? Leave your comment below.