Sickness has once again plagued the Alexander family. We've been dealing with it now for four days, which is why I'm a bit behind in posting. I'll get caught up soon, though. Thanks for your patience!
Day 218: Matthew 12
When I was growing up, my parents instilled in me many values. They taught me about God and the Bible. They taught me about good sportsmanship--to congratulate others when you lost and to have a good attitude about it. They wanted me to see the importance of education and reading and writing and arithmetic (that arithmetic never did amount to many skills for me, though--even though I wish it had). They also taught me the value of having good friends, watching "wholesome" movies, and not being around people who did things that were against my morals.
I knew then that my parents were right, and so, basically, I was a prude. I didn't go far with guys. I didn't go to parties, bars, or clubs. I didn't curse or swear. I didn't do drugs, have sex, or drink. I still had my own flaws, of course, just not these behaviors. And I'm glad I didn't do these things. I had a lot of friends doing them, and I saw how harmful this behavior could be on them. They were too close to guys who wouldn't be there the next week. They were ruining their brain cells, their intelligence. They became depressed and lonely. I felt sorry for them. But I didn't engage in these behaviors.
Don't get me wrong. There were some things that I really wanted to do and experience. But for some reason, I just didn't do them (I guess I thank the Lord for this). I was often seen as a prude (which was a negative concept) or a fuddy duddy or an old fogey. But I also had a great group of friends who weren't engaging in these behaviors either. So I felt all right.
Like I said earlier, I still had my own battles to fight. I sinned daily. I lied and stole and cheated on numerous occasions. And I learned something from my friends who battled these more visible behaviors. Although everyone knew that (s)he was a drug addict or that (s)he slept around with everyone, these people had something that I didn't have: they were honest. They didn't lie about who they were; rather, they were honest about it and let the whole world see who they were--warts and all. And either people liked them or they didn't. These friends of mine taught me many valuable lessons, and this was one of them.
But what we all had in common was that we were far from perfect. Jesus says in Matthew 12 that the mouth speaks what is already in the heart, so it's important to ponder and think about good things. Peace, love, faith, forgiveness, hope, repentance, salvation, redemption, grace. Thinking on the things that matter help identify who we are. I once heard a preacher say, "What comes out of the mouth is produced in the factory." I like that metaphor, and each day, I try to live life meditating and thinking on good things. Yes, evil and sin and depression and loneliness and all these other bad things exist. It's not that we shouldn't think about these things--we should try to help people who are struggling. But for ourselves, when we are trying to regroup and get refreshed and find rest, we should look to Jesus. He is the ultimate good thing, and he will allow our hearts to become more and more pure--no matter what we've done in the past.
Thank you, God, for good things.
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