The concert pianist received a prolonged, standing ovation after his superb performance. Following the concert a reception was given in his honor. As a crowd gathered around him, one lady remarked, “I would give anything to play as you do.” The pianist looked at the woman and said, “I don’t believe you would.” A tense hush fell over the group. “Yes, I would,” repeated the woman. The pianist insisted, “No, you really wouldn’t. If you wanted to pay the price, you could play as well, possibly even better then I. It has taken me seven to eight hours a day, seven days a week for years to play as I do. You would give anything to play as well as I do except time. When you say you would give anything, you really don’t mean it.” That was the end of the conversation.
When someone sits in my office and declares, “I would give anything if I could just be happy,” my first thought is, “No, you wouldn’t.” I did say that once, and it upset the person that I was counseling with. The thing that upset the person the most was that she came to realize that she really wouldn’t give anything. She just wanted to want to, but wouldn’t. Happiness is not something that a person accidently acquires, inherits, or buys. Happiness is a by-product of a lot of sacrificing of self, coupled with hard work. It isn’t easy to obtain, or everyone would have it. The Bible is the perfect guide to happiness, but most people will not give anything to acquire its blessings. They will not study it, and they will not put it into practice. After Jesus gave His disciples a lesson on service, He said, “Since you know these things, you will be happy if you practice them” (John 13:17–SEB).
You say that you would give anything to be happy. Would you give yourself? Would you give up your own ideas of happiness? Would you?
In my years of preaching I have had numerous parents tell me, “I would give anything if my teenagers were interested in the church.” I have been tempted several times to say, “No, you wouldn’t.” These parents were always too busy to bring their children to Bible school and youth meetings when they were younger. They spent the nice Sundays at the lake; company kept them from worship on other Sundays; and being “too tired” caused them to forsake most of the Sundays that were left. When they did come, they were habitually late, and on their way home they griped about the sermon, the song service, and the unfriendly members. They say they would give anything, but they really wouldn’t, because they didn’t. They wouldn’t give their involvement and interest and enthusiasm to the work of the church. They wouldn’t set a good example before the children because “Christianity is caught, not taught.” Generally speaking, children have a way of growing up to be what their parents are, rather than what they preach.
When I hear someone say, “I would give anything if I could know the Bible the way he does,” I think to myself, “No, you wouldn’t.” Are you in the habit of at tending regularly Bible classes and worship? Do you sacrifice to attend lectureships and gospel meetings? Do you have a regular daily Bible study of your own? If your answer to any of these questions is “NO,” then you really wouldn’t “give anything” to know the Bible better. Age, education, and memory have NOTHING to do with Bible knowledge. The key ingredient is DESIRE.
Moses E. Lard was illiterate at age 17. He was too poor to buy books; so he learned to read from advertisements. He later became one of the great preachers of the Restoration Movement and preached without notes. He had a passion for learning. Being illiterate at 17 did not hold him back because he WOULD give anything to know the Bible, and he did!
Years ago before the Bible was available on cassette tapes, I read the story of a man who was injured in an explosion; dynamite blew up near his face and hands. When he left the hospital, he was blind and had no feeling in his hands. He developed a sudden passion for Bible knowledge. He could not see to read, nor could he follow Braille with his fingers. He learned to read Braille with his tongue. It took him five years, but he read the Bible completely through. How many times have you read the Bible through in the past five years? How many hours of television do you watch a week? How many hours do you spend in Bible reading and study? Would you really give anything to know the Bible better? The sacrifice of half of your television programs for Bible study would make you a Bible scholar in a few years!
When your desire for the thing that you want becomes stronger than your urge to make excuses, you will get what you want. Anyone can find an excuse, but some people don’t need them.
Would you give anything to have the blessing you want? Would you really? They why don’t you give it TODAY!