The Sunday before last, I decided my laptop needed a bath and promptly dumped an entire bottle of water on top of it.

It was drenched.

Now, having soaked my phone a few years ago, I know that water and electronics do not mix.

As such, I did my best to wipe it off, and within twenty minutes, my aunt had whisked me to the local uBreakiFix.

Now, bearing in mind that I’d just gotten whacked with taxes and was not, eh-hem, in the best fiscal position to purchase a new laptop, I prayed for the best, but a few days later, I got the news…

Not only was my laptop dead, it was inoperable and rigged to blow like some sort of kamikaze pilot.

The technician told me, and I quote,

“The battery is so swollen that if we tried to open it up, the whole thing could burst into flames or explode.”

Message received.

My laptop was officially deceased.

But here’s the crazy thing.

When I walked out of the uBreakiFix toting my soggy laptop, I was smiling.

Why?

Well, friends, I submit it had to happen.

My laptop had to die.

Because it was steadily taking over my life, commanding my energy, mind, and time and causing me to neglect things that matter more and most in life.

Frankly, its loss felt like a liberation, and its absence gave me a chance to reflect on the things I had prioritized which led me to the discomforting realization that things we prioritize can actually be ciphers for the things we idolize.

Let me explain.

Nowadays, when people think of idols, there’s a good chance they still think of wooden carvings and golden calves.

However, to my understanding, idolatry is simply and fundamentally a disordering—an elevation of an inferior thing over a superior thing—which is, I believe, something that actually happens pretty frequently.

No wooden carvings or golden cows necessary.

For example, in my life, my idols were the things I’d write.

See, I’d been spending nearly sixteen hours a day either planning blog posts, working on the book I need to revise, or writing its sequel.

Writing had basically become my life, and my laptop was the altar where I gave my sacrifice.

So it had to go.

It had to die.

Because I needed to be free of it to really reassess my priorities in life.

And, friends, to that end, I’m implementing what I’m calling a good, better, best check in order to keep myself honest.

Because here’s the thing:

We don’t typically prioritize bad things.

That would be ridiculous.

Instead, what we typically have are choices between good, better, and best.

Idolatry comes when we put good above better and better above best and then God has to do something like send a flood and make your laptop get drenched.

So!

With all the being said, here is how I’m distinguishing between good, better, and best. 🙂

Good: Material Things.

One of my all time favorite movies is The Internship with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.

It is hilarious and, from what I’ve heard, a fairly accurate representation of what working at Google is like, which, frankly, blows my mind.

But there’s one scene in particular that I think is helpful in distinguishing between what is good and what is better, and it occurs when Owen Wilson says to Dylan O’Brien’s character (who is perpetually attached to his phone screen),

“Great big world out there, my friend. Just three inches up.”

Granted, at the time, they were at a strip club (which, if you know anything about my porn addiction testimony, you’ll understand that that’s not exactly something I’m a fan of).

However!

I relate to Dylan O’Brien in that scene because, pre-flood, I was glued to my computer screen.

A material thing.

A machine.

While I’d like to think that my blog and the books I am writing are good, maybe even great, things, I was neglecting better things.

Specifically, my friends and family.

Better: Human Beings.

In On The Free Will of Choice, Evodius observes,

“Something that is alive is better than something that merely exists.”

Amen!

I knew this, but my life wasn’t reflecting it.

My laptop–my writing–was governing my life, and while I might love to write and hope to maybe one day do it full-time, people, especially my family, rank much higher in my eyes.

I’d lost sight of that, and it took the loss of my laptop to make me sit up and realize that I was prioritizing a thing to living, breathing human beings.

That was stupid of me, and now, I’m striving to be much more conscious of how I treat and prioritize “things” (like writing and laptop screens) relative to the relationships I have with the people–the human beings–around me.

However, my relationships with family and friends weren’t the only things I was starting to neglect because I wasn’t just putting good above better.

I was putting good above best.

Best: Eternal Life.

Last week, after getting the news that my laptop was dead, I went shopping for a replacement.

On my mind were things like touch-screen, PC, and erm… cheap, but two biggies were a long, long battery life and minimal ports (i.e. minimal opportunities for water to get inside). 🙂

See it irritates me when electronics die, whether in the short term or for all time.

I don’t think I’m alone in that.

By and large, people want their gizmos and gadgets to last, which is why, when they die, people feel irritated… mad… even sad.

But the fact remains that material things, like laptops, are things that we can—and do—lose.

And sadly, the same can be said of human beings, too.

Friends.

People are not permanent.

They can exit our lives and even life itself, and there’s little we can do.

While human beings are certainly better than material things, they still lack permanency, and I’d submit that the best things in life are the things we cannot lose.

According to the incomparable Augustine, there are two:

“Now nobody is secure in goods that can be lost against his will. However,
nobody loses truth and wisdom against his will. It is not possible for anyone to be physically separated from them.”

As a Christian, I believe, as Augustine did, that Truth and Wisdom aren’t just abstract concepts, but a living, loving being that offers eternal security—everlasting life—to me and to you.

In John 14:6, Jesus says,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Friends, I believe that wholeheartedly, but before my laptop got fried, I’d been neglecting the way, the truth, and the life, spending almost all my time attached to a screen, completely neglecting the One who has offered me eternity.

No more.

If my laptop had to get soaked for me to see that my priorities had gotten jacked, then I pray it gets hit with a hammer if I ever start to creep back.

As it stands, I am recommitting to keeping good, better, and best in check, and at this point, I just have to laugh because seriously, friends, who knew a reality check could be so wet?

That’s all for this week!

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