Richard Hatch.

Remember him?

You know ... "Survivor," last summer. The fat, naked "snake." Richard Hatch, the sole survivor, the one who walked off the island with a million dollars.

How soon we forget.

Not that our amnesia is related only to Rich. Do you know anyone who can still name all five Spice Girls? How about last year's Academy Award winners for Best Actor and Best Actress? Can you remember more than a handful of gold medal winners from the 2000 Summer Olympics?

The bottom line is this, writes Jay Martel in Rolling Stone magazine: "Everything's a flash in the pan, so why not get the most out of your flash?" Richard Hatch had his moment in the sun, and he milked it for all it was worth ... even appearing in those ever-present "Got Milk?" ads. Regis Philbin will continue asking for contestants' final answers until we can't stand the sound of his voice any more. Britney Spears seemingly spends every waking moment of her young life taping TV specials, recording songs, touring, marketing dolls in her likeness and shilling products -- including, incidentally, Polaroid's Instant Cameras.

How appropriate: Instant Cameras. Can you blame her?

By the way, here's a bit of useless trivia: If you rearrange the letters in the name "Britney Spears," you get the word "Presbyterians." Try it -- it works!

As far as the future goes, all bets are off: The Nasdaq creates and wipes out fortunes in a single day, fashions inspired by hip-hop are completely unpredictable, and all we know for sure about next year is that we'll all need new computers. It's easy to see, says Jay Martel, why the smart money is on getting it WHILE you can, HOWEVER you can, as FAST as you can (Jay Martel, "Hot Strategy: Milking It," Rolling Stone, September 14, 2000, 120).

This focus on instant gratification was part of the temptation Jesus faced when he spent his forty days in the wilderness. After all, the devil suggested he turn a stone into bread, saying, in effect, "Go ahead, Jesus -- get it WHILE you can!" And he offered him all the kingdoms of the world, "Go ahead, Jesus -- get them HOWEVER you can!" And he tested him by challenging him to throw himself off the temple and into the hands of God, "Go ahead, Jesus -- grab hold of the Lord's protection as FAST as you can!"

What's interesting is that God was ALREADY working to provide Jesus with all these attractive things. They would come to him eventually ... at the right time, in the right place, according to the divine plan. Jesus would certainly be fed with nourishing bread. And he would definitely become the cosmic king of kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus would even be rescued from the finality of death by the power of God.

But not yet.

Don't you find that temptation is so often connected to impatience? You want something that is really quite innocent in itself -- a piece of bread, a chance to be a leader, a sign from God -- but you get into trouble because you want it NOW. You're unwilling either to wait for it or to work for it, so you take shortcuts -- and end up getting into trouble.

Picture this: You're hungry, you crave an elegant meal, you walk into a five-star restaurant. You order up a feast -- one you really can't afford -- enjoy it immensely, and then charge the whole thing on your credit card. Then, because you can manage only to make the minimum payment on your monthly balance, you pay for this dinner for years and years and years, and your hundred-dollar meal ends up costing you thousands and thousands.

The problem is wanting it NOW. The temptation is instant gratification. The solution is to resist the lure of the moment, and trust that God will satisfy you in the fullness of his own divinely-appointed time.

Not that food is our only problem. Think of money ... sex ... success. All can be good or bad, depending on the timing. All are wonderful gifts of a loving and life-giving Lord, designed to bring us nourishment, opportunity, pleasure, and well-being. But not if we gobble them, grab them, force them, or rush them.

Bread can satisfy our deep hunger, except when God says, "No, not now." World-class leadership is a goal worth pursuing, but not at the expense of making a deal with the devil. Being a child of God is a cherished blessing, except when you challenge the Lord to a fast and dirty test of his love. The devil so often takes good and graceful gifts and corrupts them -- luring us into wanting them now, grabbing them however we can, and getting them fast.

As Christians, we don't have to join the rush. In this season of Lent, this springtime of the soul, this time of slow growth and spiritual maturation, we don't have to fall into the trap of feeling that we need to grab everything we can in our flash-in-the-pan world. In the face of our society's fleeting, superficial, and increasingly sinister and seductive style of success, Christianity challenges us to take the long view and focus on eternity. Resisting temptation and taking things slowly are important parts of what it means to follow Jesus faithfully, as we'll be trying to do together over the next six weeks.

Truly good things take TIME to develop, and we cannot expect a harvest overnight. Like a farmer who works the soil, cultivates, waters and weeds, we need to take time to invest ourselves in activities that will bear a good and lasting fruit. If we resist the lure of the quick buck, the flashy image, the easy answer and the tempting moment, God will satisfy us in the fullness of his own divinely-appointed time. "Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out," advises Jesus, "an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys" (Luke 12:33).

You can win a quick million from Regis, and then have a robber clean you out. You can fill your closet with designer duds, and then have a moth eat them up. But when you invest yourself in the slow and steady work of the kingdom, you'll be building a fortune that is eternally secure.

No doubt the world will continue to sing the old Janis Joplin hit "Get It While You Can." Society's stars will burn brightly, as Janis did, and then quickly fade away. Celebrities will experience their own flash-in-the-pan, and most will simply make the most of their momentary glory.

But we followers of Christ have our eyes on a different star -- one that burns brightly, but never fades away. We're willing to watch, to wait, to work, and to trust that our Lord will bring us nourishment, opportunity, pleasure, and well-being. All in his good time. All according to his divine plan.

We may not experience instant gratification. But we can look forward to something better: eternal gratification. Amen.