I once bought a television for wife. Now this is not meant to sound unusual as over the thirty or so years that we have known each other, I have on occasions bought the odd gift and it has often been a surprise. The television was certainly a surprise. It was way back in 1984 and we had been married for just over a year when our dentist in consultation with the doctors, decided it was time that wife had her wisdom teeth removed. For a woman this can be a risky operation as losing wisdom in any form is not advisable but having to go through pain to achieve this loss makes it seemingly unwise in the first place. Still, somewhere in the back of the male mind is the possibility that such an operation on the mouth area might render the patient speechless for a few days during the recovery period, or at least a reduction in the number of words uttered per minute. Weighing up the situation, I encouraged her to take the dentist's advice and go for it. It was back in the days when Musgrave hospital in Belfast resembled an army training camp with a whole village of Nissan huts enclosing the main wards, corridors and some operating theatres. It was a complete maze inside, in need of a severe make over but the work that was done by the doctors and nurses was superb in every way. It was also back in the days when getting wisdom teeth removed required several days in hospital, an operation under general anaesthetic and a recovery period before release, not like today, when the pressure of lack of beds almost means you could be wheeled out to the car after your operation. When I hear of people having their wisdom teeth removed these days, I squirm and frown and offer sympathy but most folks have them removed by their own dentist unless there is a more difficult extraction. Anyway, back to the television. Our house was cold and I mean, cold. Indeed the only really warm place in the house was under cover of the bedsheets, so it occurred to me that as wife would be spending some time on the mattress in days following her operation, how nice it would be if she could lie there and watch television. The fact that it was almost the end of July and the bedroom was like an oven didn't deter me from my intention to have a television in the bedroom before she returned to base. The presence of an aerial socket was certainly an incentive but maybe not as big a one as the Olympic Games that were just about to start. So I again weighed up the situation thinking carefully about those lonely nights I would have to spend in the house on my own when my wife of just one year was far away in Belfast. I then began to think even more carefully about those Olympics, beginning in Los Angeles and because of the time difference, being broadcast live to GB from just before midnight and into the early morning. And I thought of the perfect companion a television might be for a lonely husband, who could watch live sport into the wee small hours and time apart from my beloved would pass more quickly. So I bought a television. And do you know, I really got hooked on swimming that year, watching every heat and final until about three o'clock in the morning, as well as glimpses of other sports that were being shown during the first week. For those of you who can't remember or just don't care (wife belongs to the latter category), the 1984 Olympics were the games of Victor Davis, Carl Lewis, Mary Decker and Zola Budd, a young Steve Redgrave on his way to first Olympic glory and an older Daley Thompson having his second triumph. And we saw for the first time, a women's marathon and the contorted smiles of the synchronised swimmers.
But back to the television. Wife was tremendously impressed with my show of undying love toward her and for days enjoyed the comfort of a warm bed and a glowing screen but I think it eventually began to dawn on her, and of course it took more time after having those wisdom teeth removed, when I continued to watch the box into the early morning, that maybe I also had an ulterior motive for my purchase. I have no comment to make.
So what are our motives when we do things. IS it because we really care about others or is it sometimes for self glory or self promotion or the praise of others. I'm not always sure. Jesus tells us in Matthew ch 6, 'And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.' When we give to others do we do it in secret or for all to see, when we help the poor or needy, will everyone know about it and when we help others to salvation, do we actually feel elevated about ourselves, .when it is only by God's grace that we are saved. If you will truly follow your Master, hide the words of David in your heart as he spoke to Solomon, 'Serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.' There's more than a gold medal waiting.
