Axioms…from my perspective

i’ve decided to dedicate thursdays to giving some of my personal life axioms…truth that, from my perspective, is self-evident. sometimes practical. sometimes philosophical. sometimes whimsical. but truth, no less.

“this, too, shall pass”

this is a truth that i have held on to for years and years.  i first heard of it when i visited an alcoholics anonymous location and saw it posted on a wall.  i was struck by it’s genius and it’s simplicity.

it has a mysterious origin…one steeped in jewish folklore…attributed to king solomon.  abraham lincoln summed up the story the best in an address to the wisconsin state agricultural society in 1859:

It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: “And this, too, shall pass away.” How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!

by constantly having something to look forward to, he found himself content.  what he previously thought was satisfaction was only a superficial feeling that was brought on by his great wealth…which was only temporary…thus, his satisfaction could not last forever.  true satisfaction could only be found when he recognized his wealth for what is was.

wealth, poverty, health, sickness, good times, bad, injustice, fairness, right, wrong…it’s all with us.  and it all inevitably passes.  this sobering reality can bring freedom or apathy…take your pick.  for me, i prefer freedom.

the apostle paul put it this way:

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.  Philippians 4:11-13

Axioms…from my perspective

i’ve decided to dedicate thursdays to giving some of my personal life axioms…truth that, from my perspective, is self-evident. sometimes practical. sometimes philosophical. sometimes whimsical. but truth, no less.

“see the biggest picture possible”

it’s interesting as the weeks go by, and more and more of my axioms begin to surface, i find myself realizing that the most important axiom i believe in is whatever one i am currently writing about.  more true today than ever…

the difficulties of life have a way of “squeezing down” our perspective.  stuff comes our way nearly everyday.  the unexpected.  the unfair.  the unexplained.  the painful.  the heartbreaking.  sometimes you see it coming.  sometimes you don’t.  no matter…hurt still hurts.  and our nature is to “squeeze down”.

god wants us to see life in IMAX, but when our world comes crushing in (or simply tweaked), we have this unhealthy way of viewing life through a tiny, self-imposed tunnel.  we choose to see what we want to see.

we fail to see the big picture…we don’t go to the edges to get a better angle…to get a glimpse of what god sees…and to get a view of what god is really doing in the drama of our existence.  but we need to go there.

honestly, it’s hard.  it’s much easier to sit in our pain.  or carry on endless dialogues in our own minds.  or run from the truth and live in denial.  or go and find an arsenal of would-be friends who will say what we want to hear.  none of these…or an endless string of imposters…is the edge.  it’s something entirely different.

it is learning to develop the discipline of sorting out truth from fiction.  but it’s more.  it’s having the mind of christ.  nothing short of that will do.

In praise of the sports metaphor – three

to be honest, i’m not much of boxing fan…although one of my guilty pleasures is to sneak a few looks at  ultimate fighting, when nobody’s looking!

there’s a term that’s unique to boxing that i’ve been thinking about this afternoon.  when a boxer is being beaten and his opponent is pummeling him, he is forced back on his feet and pushed against the ropes.  when his back is against the ropes, he is in a total defensive posture…taking hits, ducking jabs, and receiving shots from the enemy.  if the boxer has anything left, he usually leans on the ropes to muster courage or strength to make it to the end of the round and get back to fight again.

it’s in this experience that we get the metaphor, on the ropes.  it means that place in our journey where the enemy has us backed up, taking his shots, and feeling like we’re getting ready to go down for the count.  it’s that point where we see little hope, little help, and quitting seems like the only option.

i’ve felt like i’ve been on the ropes a few times in my life.  the enemy was getting the best of me through discouragement, sorrow, fear, guilt or failure.  i have wanted to give up.  when i have be on the ropes, i have held on to this truth that comes from the pen (and the life) of the apostle paul:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

if you are on the ropes today, it is my prayer that his grace will be sufficient for you.