How do you want to be remembered one day?
Isn’t it amazing how certain character traits run in families? People in such a family are often quite proud of the fact that they are stubborn or as they call it ‘strong willed’. In other cases they actually use their family trait as an excuse to behave the way they do. It is almost as if they can’t help it.
Well, I cannot find any scriptural grounds for this attitude and think we are often just too lazy to make an effort to change. Look at the instruction from Paul to do the exact opposite:
Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
It looks like the key here is to be transformed by the ‘renewing of the mind’. So we have to think differently. We often hear the expression that we sometimes can’t prevent bad things from happening to us but we can chose how we are going to react upon it.
I have also noticed that it takes time to fall into bad habits and similarly it takes time to build a lifestyle of integrity. So, it seems that our choices eventually determine our destiny so to a large degree we can ‘write our own life story’. How often don’t we miss these opportunities because we measure our success in monitory terms?
Years ago, I heard of a young high school boy (David) who asked his Dad if he could go to a school party. His Dad said he must decide for himself but asked if he can tell him a story from his experience? David agreed and the Dad told him that these parties can carry on till the early hours of the morning and the youngsters start to experiment with alcohol and girls and all sorts of unplanned things eventually just ‘happen’. On Monday morning these kids get to school and ‘relive’ the party and all sorts of true and untrue stories are told. Then, someone suddenly remembers that David was also there. From here the stories don’t matter because David was there! He is now associated with the party and his name (which he built up for 16 years) is suddenly gone. Then the Dad left David to make up his own mind. Two days later he returned to his Dad and said he valued his name to much to risk loosing it and he is not going to the party.
Look at this verse in the Message Bible concerning marriage:
Mal 2:15 GOD, not you, made marriage. His Spirit inhabits even the smallest details of marriage. And what does he want from marriage? Children of God, that’s what. So guard the spirit of marriage within you. Don’t cheat on your spouse.
This is another typical case where one’s marriage does not ‘suddenly’ get so bad that you end up in adultery. Before that you have not guarded the spirit of marriage…
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