Would you like that to be said of you? Me, too – for both of us.
Before I forget? Remember this: ‘The peanut is ageless.” Got it? Peanut. Ageless.
“Hey–goo-ood mornin’!” Scowl that would curdle milk.
Understand: if you’re not a morning person, nobody expects ‘perky’ from you much before 1o AM. But civil? Decent? Understanding? Assuredly.
Just as you expect the morning people in your life to understand your wanting to stay up and watch Letterman, Fallon or Kimmel watch you FB all your online peeps. Sadly, most employers just don’t get that you show up every day at 8. What–they expect work out of you at such a dystopian hour?
True, some morning people give the impression that real Christians love to watch the sunrise. Some night folks think anybody who likes getting up in the morning has stripped a mental sprocket and their spiritual wiring isn’t up to code. Godliness is next to having the lights on.
Truth is, we all have a personality and our own preferences. There are Christ-followers wherever you look. The ticket is figuring out if they’re worth following . . . . which as we all know has zero to do with the time of day.
Yeah, okay. Or night.
Proverbs 4:10-19 makes the usual contrast between Good and Evil. Or, as The Message refreshingly puts it, the difference between Wisdom Way and Wicked Bypass.
I like it. Neither Good and Evil nor Wisdom and Wickedness just happen. Left to ourselves, yes, we seem to swerve toward the gutter. In a fallen world, even what we see as perfection is flawed. Yet we are still the sum of our own choices. Despite the brokenness of our created-perfect world, we still can at any point choose the high road–travel Wisdom Way.
Often those seen as holy are in reality too timid or dishonest to admit their preference is actually a little south of Heavenly. Equally often those seen as unholy are more forthright and honest; given more knowledge and information they surprise their critics by looking up instead of down. Beware of casual and easy labels.
“So what’s the deal with the shining-brighter thing?” Ah, our minds are in sync. Seriously? They’re in their mid-30’s. Let them go.
There isn’t an ‘OFF’ switch for living an effective, positive Christian witness. There is no down time, no vacation and certainly no retirement from being the counterbalance to Evil – or, as The Message encourages, traveling on Wisdom Way via Righteous Road.
God said, “I will be with you.” He NEVER said, “. . . until you retire, turn __, get sick, etc.” No qualifiers. God is ageless, existing outside of, beyond, above and totally surrounding Time.
You and I are not finite human beings with a dab of infinite spirit stuffed inside. Yeah, like those green, tart manzanilla olives with the little bit of pimiento poked in ’em. We are eternally-alive spiritual beings with a temporary human coating. Yeah. Like peanut M & Ms. The shell is to enable us to live out our Time-bound lives here in reasonable harmony – if we choose it. But the shell is only temporary; it’s the nut inside that’s forever. Yeah. There’s the peanut thing.
In terms of your Christian faith and daily witness, don’t think “old”, “retire” or “aging”. I don’t. I have neither time nor energy for any of those. In fact, where shining God’s light in others’ lives is concerned, the older we get the more important it is NOT to act our age–in terms of Earth years. Sour faces and dour attitudes do not lift up Christ nor do they draw hungry, searching people to God.
Today is the youngest you and I will ever be, here. So why not go on–get after what you want. Who’s stopping you besides yourself?
“Okay, great. You were gonna tell me about the shining stuff.”
Right you are, Bert. You’ll find that in Proverbs 4:10-19, quoted from The Message. I’ll let you find it; it’ll mean more that way.
You and I are here to be an example, to encourage and inspire others. That is true regardless of your personality or your life journey thus far. If I can overcome my set of challenges and obstacles along the way, you can overcome yours. But nobody can do that for you. The manner in which you travel, and by which route, is always-always-always up to you.
In order to get from what was to what will be, you’ve got to deal with what is.
This is a great day to make a great day! I’m suggesting you follow Solomon’s advice, here, and just stay on Wisdom Way. Never again automatically cower before an obstacle. Walk gently, steadily and plainly on your path and leave a trail of Light so others can find their way. Their stories aren’t over yet.
Your story isn’t over yet.
“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” C. S. Lewis
Loving you,
Dan
© D. Dean Boone, August 2014