Spent Not Wasted

Sam DeSocio | 8/3/26 | Colossians 1:24-2:7

You've poured yourself into something — a job, a kid, a parent, a relationship — and somewhere in the middle of it, late at night, the question shows up: is this worth it? Am I wasting my life? This message starts with the famous marshmallow experiment, then adds a third option the researchers never tested: what if waiting doesn't get you the second marshmallow — it gets one for someone else? That twist opens up one of the strangest passages Paul ever wrote (Colossians 1:24–2:7), where he weighs prison, rejection, and rocks thrown at him against people he's never met — and says the scale balances. Along the way: why our culture's best version of suffering is really just an investment strategy, what Paul actually meant by "filling up what is lacking" in Christ's afflictions (and what he definitely didn't mean), and why maturity was never about becoming a more optimized version of you. Part 3 of Worthwhile, a series through Colossians from Good News Church in Hockessin, Delaware. New here? Subscribe for a new message every week. Visit us in person: goodnewsde.com