The Wise Men followed a star. What star are you hitching your wagon to? You better be the star you are following is worth living and dying for. The star of pleasure, sex, money, culture, prestige, job, or looks is the wrong star to hitch your wagon to. Those are stars that will fall, and those are stars that will fail you. I think about Carl Perkins, a musician in the 1950’s and author of the song, “Blue Suede Shoes,” which was one of Elvis Presley’s greatest hits. As a guitarist he influenced many of the next generation in rock and roll, including George Harrison of the Beatles, but he never obtained the fame of some of his other colleagues. He explained it like this, “I never envied Elvis and his mansion and all that. All those boys, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison all lost their wives and their families. People say, ‘What happened to you, Carl?’ And all of them went on to super stardom. And where did you go?’ and I say, I went home and that is a good place to be.” He was wise not to follow the star of fame. He followed a more stable star. The Wise Men followed the star to Jesus. At first they didn’t know where the star would lead them, but the star led them to Jesus, to Life. Don’t hitch your wagon to a falling star. Hitch your wagon to the star of Christmas, the star of Jesus. He will lead you to life, truth, purpose, and eternity.
– Dr. Tim Thompson