Tale as Old as Time

I know I’ve probably mentioned my dating life in too many sermons, lessons, articles, and every day conversations. Before marriage, the pursuit of the “fairer sex” took precedence in my life from a very young age. I like to blame Disney movies for planting this desire deep within my soul. I know that Disney movies get blamed for a lot of things (like the supposed subliminal messages planted in various scenes), but almost every Disney movie pushes the idea that a man is not complete until he has found that special woman to compliment him. Snow White had her prince. Aladdin had his princess. Even the lady found her tramp. Who was not touched during the scene in which one pooch in love pushed a meatball across the table to its companion? That’s amore! Can you feel the love tonight? It’s obvious that Disney’s target audience is not single men and women.
Before reaching manhood (however you define that), I had crushes on teachers and gave valentines to girls in my class. This developed in to “Do you like me? Check yes or no” notes and the typical fare of awkward interactions and gestures. Once, I literally threw a poem at a girl and walked off of the bus as quickly as possible. I worked so hard to get attention from girls. I don’t think that I’ve ever pursued God with nearly as much vigor and intensity. In Philippians 3:8, Paul states that he considers “everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus”. When I was finally able to put aside girls and seek more intimacy with God, God provided me a woman more wonderful than I could have comprehended. Whether single or as part of a couple, God provides the things that we need when we genuinely try to know Him. In contrast to having a relationship with our Lord and master, other relationships are meaningless.

The Fear of Failure

I know that I myself, and many other people living in the world today, have a fear of failure. There are numerous opportunities to fail in the various pursuits one engages in. We can fail in relationships, education, and careers. We can even fail to accomplish remedial tasks like cooking an egg or tying our shoes. Now that I have you excited to go out and face the day, let’s step back and consider how we define failure. Is our definition of failure determined by the world? Do we live to impress our fellow men and climb above them on the ladder of success or do we live to fulfill the will of God, striving to please our creator? One might find himself like Jesus, completely unpopular in the eyes of humanity only to be lauded and praised by God.
God views failure quite differently than the average person does. Romans 8:1 states that there is “no condemnation in Christ”. God forgives mistakes much faster than the world. God’s first action is not to criticize and punish one who fails. Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him in Luke 22:31-32. However, he knew that Peter would turn back. We can all turn back from failure as God constantly gives us the opportunity to do so. Romans 8:28 lets us know that everything works out for those that love God. God allows us to profit from our failures. We learn and grow stronger from failure.
We will all fail at one point or another in our lives. Everyone makes bad choices and mistakes. However, we must never fall away from God. Our lives must be constantly centered on him. The failure that we must fear is displeasing God. When we take control of our lives away from God, we displease him. When we live without fear of consequences, always trying to satisfy the world, we deny God and fail him.

Give Careful Thought to Your Ways

When it comes to surveys, I am a glutton. I can’t take enough of them. I don’t know if they are a stroke to my ego, making me feel like my opinions actually matter. I don’t know if it’s the feeling of satisfaction I receive in helping to shape psychology, entertainment, restaurant service, or whatever realm a particular survey might be rooted in. I believe this love affair started in college. Taking a couple classes in statistics introduced me to the importance of assessment. How can anything be tailored to a population without data gathered from that population? How can problems be solved without properly evaluating the problems themselves?
In one of my classes, entitled ‘Research Methods’, the class was prompted to not only learn about methods of research, but we had to construct our own studies. Each individual was important to my study of the effects of cinema on one’s mood. In order to receive accurate and unbiased results, I had to find as many people as possible to participate in my study. It was a very interesting and potentially useful. A couple people even cried.
Various passages of scripture remind us to “give careful thought to” the way we live our lives. (Haggai 1:5,7) It’s important to sit back and ask one’s self, “Am I really living the way that I should?” Even if you feel confident with your choices, it is necessary to constantly be asking yourself tough questions like this. There is always room for improvement, even in the lives of the most diligent Christians. Lamentations 3:40 suggests that we “test” our ways and “return to the Lord”. It is never too early or too late to take at honest look at one’s life and make the necessary changes or enhancements.

The Digital Age

In recent years, I’ve become fascinated by the processes by which various physical objects are created. Just looking around any given space, one can find hundreds and thousands of man-made products with a variety of purposes. Have you ever considered the process by which natural materials are converted to plastic? Our world does not require us to have this knowledge. Different people have different skills that fulfill the needs of others. Since man first had to depend on his own skills to provide for himself, we have been learning more and more about how to manipulate our world. We created tools, using physics and chemistry to create objects. The industrial revolution gave us manufacturing processes, allowing former craftsmen to pursue other interests.
Eventually, computers were invented and have since become a valuable part of our every day lives. Minds formerly taught to deal with a physical plane of existence are now learning to operate within a world of software. Computers are very complex and just a few years ago, were incredibly difficult for the average person to operate. Our children are growing up in a world where computer software is more simple and elegant.
It is important that no matter how far we advance in to the digital realm, we continue to remember where we came from. If you are reading this, you are most likely alive. This means you’ve at least had your basic needs met up to this point. And, if you really stop and consider where you stand today, you will see that you are blessed far more than many people living in this world. I constantly have to go back to Matt. 6:25-34 to be reminded that God continues to provide for me. Even with all of our understanding and labor, it is God who ultimately provides for us. We don’t need to continue to worry about tomorrow.