Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Pride

Learning is an act of humility. We take a role not in control but rather a role of submission. We let our defenses down and we try not to act as we know everything but, rather we admit that we may not know everything about a certain topic. The question is how do we learn from? Do we have a learning posture in life? Are there people that we are pretty sure don't have anything to teach us? As Americans we are inbred with the thinking that we are right and superior to many others in the world. But do we have it right about most things? Are we the utopian society that doesn't need to learn from others? I have been thinking about the concept of living by faith. It is very hard for me to grasp this. I have been trying to think of the worst case scenerio of my life. My house could burn down, my family could be killed, and I could lose my job. But I am sure even in that worst case scenerio I could still find a place to live, find food to eat, and probably have clothes to keep me warm. Even if all that happen my life would be much better than most who live on this planet. So as I think about learning how to live by faith I realize that people who aren't white American's probably have a much better grasp on depending on God than most people I know. This is just one of the topics that I need to humbly learn about. Pride can stunt my growth in so many different ways. I can look around me and see everyone else going the same way or having the same philosophy on something but does that make it right or true?

Monday, April 23, 2012

Have to vs want to

What motivates us in life? When we go through our list of things we have to do during a week it would appear that a good chunk of our time is things we have to do. We have to work, we have to do this we have to do that. How many times have we thought or said "if only I had the time to...." The question is is time really the issue? With every single person having the same amount of hours in a week is this a valid argument? I'm not sure how each of us come to the conclusion of what is important, it may be faith, career ambitions, family, or something else. However we choose what is important drives the list of have tos. As I think about my life, my list of "have tos" is short if money is the motivating factor. In essence I work to get paid with money 25 hours a week. I'm sure this is an example I would encourage anyone else to follow. I recently told someone I worked only 25 hours and they started fantasizing about what so little work would mean for them. They started saying oh all I could get done, to be able to relax and not do anything. As I was thinking about those comments, I wasn't sure if I should be offended or take a look at my life and reevaluate the way I spend my time. Then I started thinking through the various things I did, the values I hold, and what motivates me. Can money be the sole motivator in life? I know I would like more and there are some things I would do if I had more money. But is that going to make me happier, or more fullfilled? I have freedom with my time, I can pick and choose what I do and don't do. Freedom is a blessing, but I do believe with every freedom (no matter what) comes responsability. What is my responsibility for my time? I believe first and foremost I am accountable to God with my time. If Jesus is the one example I would use to live my life how can I spend my time like He did? How can I care for, love, encourage, and to some small degree help others? Many times living with a special needs person we put the thought of "I have to do this for them." It is a bother or a burden. But is it really? What else would I be doing? What else is more important than the care and love I give Kyle on a daily basis. There are days when I do feel the drudgery but loving him isn't so much a chore as it is an honor.