How much?

"Tell us, if there were one thing we could do for your village, what would that be?"

"With all respect, Sahib, you have little to teach us in strength and toughness. And we don't envy you your restless spirits. Perhaps we are happier than you? But we would like our children to go to school. Of all the things you have, learning is the one we most desire for our children."

- Conversation between Sir Edmund Hillary and Urkien Sherpa, from Schoolhouse in the Clouds

(Three Cups of Tea)

Have it all figured out yet? Or are you still learning?

Oh the gift of learning, how we take it for granted at times...

While I was away, I missed out on my niece and nephew's, notorious question stage. You know the one, where every sentence ends with "why?" and you begin to believe there is no way to make it stop. It feels as though someone recorded this one word and then jammed the repeat button.

Soon that stage passes and relief comes only to be followed by the "nothing" stage, which I am pretty positive some of us never grow out of.

What did you learn today?..."nothing." What did you do today?..."nothing." And I think to myself, really? So you really did nothing today? You learned nothing today? How sad.

I know that this is not true. But for some of us adults, we do choose to go through each day, our same old routine, not open to new thoughts and ideas, not willing to learn and challenge ourselves. And that is sad.

When we stop learning, challenging ourselves, embracing new experiences, asking real questions, searching to understand Truth, we miss out on so much, we miss out on the depth GOD wants to take us. We miss out on Life.

"Are we willing to let GOD explode our comfort zone and expand our capacity for him? Or do we want a GOD we can manage? Unfortunately, a lot of the time that is exactly what we want - enough of GOD to make us happy, but not enough to make us change. We'd never say it, but our attitude is just what Wilbur Rees had in mind when he wrote: I would like to buy $3 worth of GOD, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine..."

(Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World)

How much do you want? How much do you choose to take? How much do you choose to give?

To Whom Do You Answer?

Lately, I've found myself faced with several decisions or situations that challenge my integrity. Some of these situations can be easily overlooked, considered "no big deal", or might even seem to be a norm in society. But I believe those are the ones that challenge us the most.

I've been studying Proverbs. Two passages caught my attention in their similarities, yet they are vastly different.

Proverbs 8:1-6 - Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city all the entrances, she cries aloud; To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, gain understanding. Listen, for I have worthy things to say.

and the the chapter continues explaining wisdom.

Then I come to Proverbs 9:11-18 - The woman Folly is loud; She is undisciplined and without knowledge. She sits at the door of her house on the seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way. "Let all who are simple come in here!" she says to those who lack judgement. "Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!" But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave.

You see, both call out! Both offer you something. Even folly can imitate "good" or a "shortcut" that can be justified. But to whom do you answer?

It is easy to take a seat with Folly, to get that "deserved" rest, or drink of stolen water for that is what you are "owed" in an unfair world, or even eat the secret food that you are able to get away with or maybe you just think to yourself, "I'm a good person in the long run...I can think of much worse things others have done..."

Does it really matter in the scheme of things?

Maybe some things we can get away with. Maybe some of these situations won't greatly affect the world. But your character is affected. Integrity is overrided by duplicity.

Proverbs 11:3 - The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

I've really been learning what it means to develop the characteristics of Christ, for He is in us. I'm definitely not perfect nor do I always make the right decisions, but I'm choosing to be aware of my actions, my thoughts, my decisions and the way they display the characteristics of Christ. What am I reflecting?

Wisdom calls out...Folly is loud...To whom do I answer? To whom do you answer?