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At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Matt Emmons of the U.S. rifle team was one shot away from a gold medal.
He didn’t even need a bull’s eye. All he had to do was leave a mark anywhere on the target. That would give him enough points to win the 50-Meter Three-Position competition.
What happened next has been described as “an extremely rare mistake in elite competition.”
Emmons was standing in Lane 2. He lowered his rifle, took aim, and fired. It was a beautiful shot.
Unfortunately, he was aiming at the target in Lane 3.
Emmons (shown above in full rifle team regalia) was awarded zero points. He finished in eighth place.
It’s impossible to overstate how many people dedicate their time, their resources, and their best efforts to accomplish a goal or to fulfill a lifelong dream – only to discover that they were aiming at the wrong target.
The Bible calls it idolatry.
Idol worship isn’t bowing before a crude figurine of a false god. It’s pursuing something good – perhaps a career, a love relationship, or a brilliant new way to serve others – as if it were ultimate. Our idol becomes for us the most important thing in the world. We may even bargain with God. “God, I’ll follow you with all of my heart, as long as you give me X.”
X marks the spot of our greatest vulnerability. Whatever you want more than anything else actually owns you. Whatever you live for, whatever target you’re shooting at, in the end controls you.
If you fall short – and human experience demonstrates that X will never be able to satisfy the deepest longing of your heart, the longing to be known and loved by God – you will feel frustrated. Devastated. Angry.
As author and pastor Tim Keller frequently pointed out, the disheartening thing is that your career cannot quench your thirst for meaning. Your greatest acts of service will seem like a drop in the world’s ocean of need. And a love relationship cannot die for your sins.
God knows this, of course, which is why he doesn’t bargain.
We may be exasperated that God hasn’t give us X. Why is God so cruel?
It turns out that God is far more interested in redirecting our line of sight to the right target.
When we aim for the simple experience of entrusting ourselves to him, everything else will line up.