Osler's Razor

Yesterday I was traveling, and I did not see any of the football I games I normally would. I didn't see Baylor get revenge on West Virginia, I didn't see Michigan snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and I didn't see LSU battle Florida. Had I been watching any of those games, they would have been important to me-- I would have been emotionally invested-- even though I did not attend any of those schools.

So, it only matters if I choose to make it matter. If I don't, life proceeds apace.

The presidential race is similar.  I can get very caught up in it, even convince myself that it very much matters, but that's not really true.  Who is President does not affect my life very much, it at all, if I am honest about it.  Yet, I still act as if it does matter.

Why do we create this kind of importance and attach it (nearly at random) to certain events?

Perhaps part of it is that when we do that, we are no longer responsible for the outcome.  We stake our imaginary fortune to something we don't control, and then if we fail it is not our failure.  We hope for glory, without risking our own self-worth.

Jesus taught the opposite: To feed the hungry and cloth the naked, and to expect no victory.  We must invest ourselves, without expecting glory.