Growthiness

As expected, my resolution's first deadline came and went without so much as a haiku to show for it. Since the second deadline was eclipsed by the first Husker football game, I now have three posts to write by Friday. My tardiness has one perk however. Namely, I have an easy choice for a perfect first topic: Personal Deadlines. Here we go.

I'll begin exploring the topic of deadlines using a situation I find congruent and helpful. Growing up in a Christian home, school, and church, we were often encouraged to assess our personal habits and choices to test whether or not we were "living what we believed". It didn't take long for me to notice the discrepancy, and I became very discouraged with the observation that I couldn't live up the the standard of religious living expected by my elders. There were so many ideas for applied principles that seemed like life-changing formulas for excellence after an evening in a group of like-minded folks, but far from practical in the morning or when I was alone.

Then I came across a different perspective on the matter that seems like a downer at first glance, but actually gave me a great deal of hope. I believe it was my dad who first introduced me to the concept and then it was reenforced through the various christian political functions in which I was involved. They posited that not only was it acceptable to legislate morality, it was impossible not to do so. This led to a more personal application of the postulate whose primary change was semantic, but revolutionary to me: It's impossible not to live what you believe, because your beliefs necessarily dictate your choices. The truth was naturally much more demanding than the hypothesis I grew up with. Now, there's still a bit of the old mentality that remains. It is possible to know and know about other beliefs that would be more wholesome and glorifying to God without actually believing them. It is also possible to use that knowledge to slowly change what you believe. The fundamental change for me came to a head in the difference between choices on a whim provoked by people and atmosphere, and those formed by habits and the product of consistent, deliberate exercise of will power.

This is where that situation really merges with the topic of deadlines, and where of course an excuse is required on my part. Since what one believes steers the choices he makes, the choice not to make my weekly blogging enough a priority not to forget it, it belies a baser belief that personal reflection and practice writing really isn't as important as I "know" in my head that it is. Personal deadlines, goals, and habits and the active responses that result ultimately make up one's discipline; discipline to a large extent defines maturity, and maturity leads to and is a form of excellence. Does that mean that my lack of response at first necessarily means that I'm immature? Yes. But my resolve to finish this post and catch up to the originally scheduled deadline represents growth, which leads me to the bright side of my above discovery.

Learning about the nature and definition of "belief" sparked a potent course of development in my spiritual development above everything else. Operating simultaneously on this new knowledge and the knowledge that without the actual, visible work of the gospel I would care nothing for a more perfect belief system, I began to notice that "living what I believed", which was called for by the christian culture at large, was primarily a call to respond to an emotional high. While there is nothing wrong with responding to one's feelings, or using them to perform otherwise difficult tasks, that pressure nearly overlooked the power of effecting an entire lifestyle and worldview that allows me to even sort through these emotions.

In closing, and in light of the above information, there are three things that have risen above the rest in my life as being beacons of God's work for me:


In ascending order,
3) My home church's devotion to world missions
2) The patience and loyalty of my friends
1) My parents' and their parents' lasting marriages