2013-10-29 – You listen to people of faith. You listen to people of science. And you hear the same stuff. Talk about beginning. Talk about ends. Talk about how we mean so much to the universe. We are unique and important.

Who cares!

You see a story about some scientist downgrading the forecast of the end of the universe from 20 billion years to 18 billion years in the future as if the end is tomorrow’s cold front coming out of Canada. Get a grip, people! There is no reason for you to be concerned. The last time I looked at the actuarial tables, human life is still measured in decades, not billions. Not even your grandchildren will be affected.

On the other side of the auditorium, we have folks telling me that my life has meaning only if some invisible god cares for me. I don’t think so.

The problem here is that we have such a narcissistic view of humanity that we’ve convinced ourselves that we only matter if the universe revolves around us.

What about your family and friends? Don’t you matter to them? But, oh yes, your spouse isn’t God. That’s your job, I guess. God reckons you because you and He go way back. These little humans you’ve surrounded yourself with don’t really matter. You’re only here with them for a lifetime.

But it’s all an illusion. You’ve got one lifetime and you spend it looking through a telescope or into an ancient book looking for salvation. It’s here all around you. Today, not 18 billion years from now.