Sunday, March 08, 2009
Wow, time flies. It's been over a month since my last post. Then again, this has become a trend for me, as evidenced by the fact that there are still posts from December on the front page. Oh well. Life goes on.
Today's post is mostly religious in nature, so if you're not into that kind of thing, feel free to stop reading right now.
On the back of the bulletins at my church, there is a brief list or poem or other form of food for thought to read. This week's list is entitled, "I've Learned That..." by Andy Rooney. I'd like to share a few that I found interesting and share my thoughts.
...being kind is more important than being right.
Wow. This one really spoke to me, because I have always cared way too much about being right. There is a lot of wisdom in this statement. It's good to always make sure that you know you are right and have your facts straight and all of that. At the same time, it's not worth arguing about. Speaking from experience, it's usually best to just let things slide. Even if you are right, sometimes it's healthy to admit that there is the possibility that you may be wrong. I'm definitely going to keep this statement in mind in the future.
...to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
This one wasn't quite as personal for me as the previous one, but I still think it is a good thing to keep in mind. I know that sometimes what I am doing is wrong and I'm in denial about it or think that it isn't that bad or something. Who knows, maybe I'm doing that right now. When that's true, I'm ignoring the facts. A sin is a sin, whether we acknowledge it or not. That is why it is so important to understand exactly what things are sinful and what things aren't. I'm just as guilty as anyone in this area. I keep saying I need to get into the Bible more, and I haven't much.
...when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
This one is another one that is more personal for me. I don't want to say that I hold grudges, but when someone hurts me badly or repeatedly, I tend to hold onto my anger longer. I had never thought of it this way before I read this sentence this morning. I don't normally plan to get even with people, but sometimes my imagination runs wild and I let my anger get out of hand. I definitely don't want to do that anymore, because I don't want them to continue to hurt me just because I won't let it go. It'll be hard, but I'll be better off in the long run.
...opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.
Ouch. I really feel this one, because I think that I've missed plenty of opportunities that I may not even realize just from being lazy or insisting on doing something my way instead of God's way. I think this is an aspect of life I hadn't thought much about previously. We're all taught that God has a special purpose for us and that through Him we can do great things. I believe with my whole heart that this is true. At the same time, though, there are billions of people in the world. If you don't want to fulfill God's purpose for you, He will find someone more willing. This is kind of a reality check for me; I need God, not the other way around.
...I wish I could have told my Dad that I love him one more time before he passed away.
My dad is alive and well. He's currently in the living room playing Mario Kart with my sister. As I've mentioned previously in this blog, sometimes we don't get along very well. Usually, we just secretly drive each other crazy and never address it. However, I've been realizing more and more lately that I just need to accept him for who he is. He's not perfect. I'm not perfect. Nobody is perfect. I can't justify getting mad every time he does something that grinds my gears. It would just kill me if I found out that someday, after our relationship continued on like this for several years, he thought I didn't love him. That's not true. Even through everything, he's my dad. I love him more than almost anyone else.
That's it for those. They were pretty interesting, I think. Next, a Bible verse. I'll admit that I don't really remember my pastor's sermon from this morning, but I did remember this verse, 1 Peter 4:8.
"And above all things have fervent love for one another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins.'"
There is a footnote at the end of that verse that refers to Proverbs 10:12, which is as follows:
"Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins."
As soon as I saw 1 Peter 4:8 on the projector screen this morning, a lot of things just clicked for me. I mean, this is it. This is what it's all about. To truly love someone, you have to be able to look past their sins and their faults and see the good in them. Probably the main reason relationships fail is addressed in this verse. You can't expect a person to be perfect when the Bible clearly states that none of us can or will be until we get to Heaven.
On a more personal level...when I get down on myself, I often ask my girlfriend, "How can you stand me? There are so many things wrong with me. How can you just accept that and love me anyway?" That verse is the answer. Fervent love. It overcomes all sin. That's just really awesome to me. I finally get it. I only hope I can love just as fervently in return.
In case you haven't been watching closely, I haven't updated my music related "gadgets" (as Blogger refers to them on the layout settings page) since December or January. That will change soon. It's just hard when I have a bunch of new music to get through and no sound on my computer.
Congratulations to the South Jeff boys and girls 4x800m relay teams, which both finished last at states. Still a very great season for both teams and the entire indoor track program in general.
Outdoor track starts next week. Should be fun. I'll let you know. =)
