Growth

Moving to Australia

“I think I’ll moved to Australia”. That’s a common refrain that I emit when I’m having a rough day. For the uninitiated, it comes from a poem titled “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day”. Alexander’s plight is that of many fifth graders – he’s picked on by his brothers, his teachers and his parents. His solution is to go to the land Down Under, until his mother reminds him they have bad days there too.

It turns out, Alexander might have known what he was talking about. In a recent news story (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070108/ts_nm/australia_life_dc), it was documented that Australians live longer than other nationals. The strange thing is indigenous Australians actually have shorter lifespans; it’s the people like Alexander who move there that benefit from the extended time on Earth. The longer lifetime may mean that you have more opportunities for bad days, but it seems to me that there’s at least an equal chance that you’ll have greater opportunities for good ones.

After all, it’s not the days that we have that define us. We, instead, should be defining the days. “Good” or “bad” is a matter of perception, or probably more appropriately, a matter of response. Sure, things that are categorically bad are going to occur. But how we choose to let those things influence us and dictate who we will be, is ultimately what determines their worth. Good or bad is not determined by the circumstance, its determined by us.

And there’s a Biblical case to be made for this as well. After all, “to live is Christ, to die is gain”. Regardless of what happens on this Earth, the ultimate outcome is secure. Good or bad – everything can be used to glorify our Savior – if that’s what we desire. And if that’s what happens, then the longer life of the Australians, or the shorten life of the one who seems to die prematurely, isn’t what determines the nature of our days. It’s the ability to further His kingdom.

I still wouldn’t mind visiting the other side of the Equator. There are definitely some days where I wouldn’t mind moving there. But I have to believe that regardless of where I reside, God can use my days for His glory. Even in Australia.

Continue Reading

Growth

Be Quiet

Growing up my sister and I weren’t allowed to say “shut up”. In fact, I, along with numerous other students, had to write an essay in my mother’s class for using those forbidden words. My mom’s opinion was that the words “shut up” were neither nice nor necessary, so we didn’t need to say it. Like so many other things in life, she was probably right.

Nowadays, when I do hear someone use the formally outlawed phrase, its usually at the point of exasperation. We encourage another to stop talking because we are no longer interested in what they have to say. We want them to stop so that we can start. More often than not the purpose of telling someone to be silent is to allow us to express our opinion or present our philosophy. Rarely do we tell another to be quiet because it’s what’s best for them.

This, however, is exactly what God instructs us to do. He tells us to be silent before His presence (Zechariah 2:13) and the reason for the admonishment isn’t because He’s in a hard-fought battle with us for supremacy, it’s because He wants us to more fully appreciate His presence. We are silent because words can not express His majesty. We are silent because even our questions would do an injustice to His wisdom. We are silent because what He was to say is pure and we should be waiting patiently for Him to speak. We are instructed to be quiet for our good, not His. He knows that its only when our mouths are closed that our other senses will be more in-tuned to recognize His holiness.

Zechariah commands the people to be quiet because God is rising from His holy dwelling. God, in other words, is getting ready to act. And when that happens, no words are necessary.

———-

Silence promotes the presence of God, prevents many harsh
and proud words, and suppresses many dangers in the way of
ridiculing or harshly judging our neighbors… If you are
faithful in keeping silence when it is not necessary to speak,
God will preserve you from evil when it is right for you to
talk.
… Francois Fenelon (1651-1715)

Continue Reading