Meaningless Melancholy

I sit here in the Big Daddy chair after a long, strenuous Sunday, and I have time to reflect on the weekend. As I do that, I become aware of something. At the ripe old age of 37, I think I have finally defeated the meaningless melancholy. Allow me to elaborate.

On a recent blog I admitted that this is my favorite time of year in large part because football season is in full swing. I love everything about football. It has been a passion of mine ever since I was a small child going to Tennessee games and Dobyns-Bennett games with my dad, well before I strapped on my first helmet at age 8. When I was younger and seasons started out like this season is starting out, it would really affect my mood and personality. You see, my high school team has uncharacteristically lost 3 straight and my college team just got taken to the woodshed by an arch nemesis and has a losing record going into week 4. There were times in my life when I would actually get worked up into a rage in the midst of watching my team in a losing effort. Even as I type that, I feel embarrassed to admit it.

What is so disconcerting is the knowledge that these "life-altering" events are SPORT...it is a GAME! By definition and by their very nature sports and games are supposed to be fun and a release of tension. The thought of allowing something like a football game to cause depression is where I got the idea of meaningless melancholy.

For you it may be different. You couldn't care less about a football game, but, perhaps you are like my wife, Paige. She gets depressed when the laundry piles up. It's a pile of fabric? Meaningless melancholy. Did you get bent out of shape cause you bought your iPhone two months ago and spent an extra $200? Meaningless melancholy. Whatever the motivating factor may be, if you get your undies in a wad over something that most of your peers would agree amounts to horse apples...that is meaningless melancholy.

Face it, life is too short to lose your joy over low priority issues. If you suffer from meaningless melancholy, pray that the Holy Spirit would help you place value on the things in life that are valuable. When you get right down to it, events, calendars, meetings, products, and other "stuff" are not valuable. For more on this, read what Solomon says in the first few chapters of Ecclesiastes. The most important things in life are your relationships- with Christ and with others. When you get your mind wrapped around that concept, you will be surprised how liberating it can be.