Hope is an anchor.  But what about when we chain ourselves to the wrong anchor?

When I was a kid, my family spent two months camping across Europe.  This was back in the day before Travelocity, Google maps, and even before the internet!  My resourceful mom somehow planned the trip amazingly well with only international postage stamps and the book Europe on $10 a day.  However, there was one night when we didn’t have a plan of where to stay, and somehow, we were driving through a place where there was nothing but darkness.  After driving and driving, we finally came to an ancient castle; my dad said he had to stop and rest, so we decided to set up our tent in the gravel parking lot.  Unfortunately, the wind was also gusting about 50 miles an hour, and without being able to stake our tent, it was about ready to blow away.  My dad had the great idea to tie it to the only other thing we could find, a semi truck that was also parked in the lot, so we snuggled into our sleeping bags for some much needed sleep.  The next thing I remember is my dad in a panic, leaping out of the tent and forcing us up and out as well, rushing to untie the tent.  It had occurred to him that perhaps the napping semi-truck driver might wake up early and begin his day’s drive without ever looking to see the little tent tied to his rear axle, dragging us to our deaths.

Remembering this incident recently, it struck me how we can look to the wrong things for security and stability, and how they could really be just as deadly as tying our tent to a semi.

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied…If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained?…1 Corinthians 15:19, 32

 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  I Timothy 6:17