In the Mind

I learned a couple of valuable lessons observing events of the past week. The first one would be that there are things that matter and there are things that don't. I'm not so alarmed by our greediness to open presents or our wanting things for ourselves as I am by our daily lack of selfless generosity and giving. Horrified really at how we can accumulate things and not use those things to help others. I looked in myself and saw how ungenerous I am. Pretty embarassing really in light of God's reckless generosity. The second thing was that attitude / the mind counts for everything. That is, "as a man believes in his heart, so is he." I saw this in the numerous football games I watched. In every situation, the team that had the best attitude won. Some teams were beaten, their seasons were disappointing, and they closed it out with yet another embarassing defeat. They had no reason to fight on. Others fought but fought unwisely. They allowed themselves to be intimidated, keeping to the corner of confidence that they could hold and being unwiling to challenge the entrenched foe on the rest of the areas. They did something, but it was a something out of desperation without any real hopes for victory. And the winners kept doing what they do, which is not winning on the scoreboard (which is a result), but doing the things that allow you to win.

My application is life. As the people I knew from growing up grow up, you can see the outcomes of their choices. When you revisit your home town, you get to hear stories of where people are, what they are doing, how they are getting on. Always interesting. And there is always a lesson, some things that are praiseworthy, others sad, tragic lessons, others the typical maddening inhibitors to a life enjoyed.

Some events were clear reminders of what matters. Reggie White's death, war and casualties in Iraq. Others are ongoing and always important: the ministry of the gospel around the world, the words of Jesus that remain forever. And others, while looking big, are really not that significant: who is on the top of the standings in this or that sport, what movies are hot right now, what the President did for Christmas, a time of worry over what to buy for Christmas.

My conclusion is this: keep your eye on Jesus, don't lose sight of him. Trust Him. Trust. Do what He says. And that is all that is required.