Living Like We Pray

by
THY-JONE

Growing up in a Christian family was “easy”, you did this and that and made sure you remained within the bounds of being a good child of God. That was that, heaven here we come. Of course we prayed: Before meals and ate like bird (food we didn’t plant or harvest); Before bed (slept like the dead, worrying about nothing). However the older we get, we begin to fill as though God is getting sloppy at getting things done the way we deem acceptable.

Whether we like it or not the first thing we have from the moment we can have anything is a standard. Before you ask how can a baby have standards? Allow me to argue that standards are set by the way in which our needs are met. When a baby’s cry is met with love and care to resolve it, that’s the standard. Unfortunately if that same cry is met with neglect, that too becomes the standard. Standards determine our expectations to achieve specific outcomes in different situations. Some standards prove to be more valuable than others because of their history of producing the desired results. It is therefore crucial to investigate the track record of a standard before adopting it. This can be done by looking within the archives and ensuring that our sources are trust worthy. For us as Christian, that is the Bible.

One might wander, why should I spend anytime looking for standards in the Bible if it was not written during the “woke” era I live in? As valid as the question is, one fact that is even more valid is that <<there is nothing new under the sun>> (“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9). Although this may seem obvious, we tend to live our lives as though we need to constantly figure out new things and or ways to do things. I beg to differ and argue that, more than anything we need to discern how to do things and after we have figured the how, use it wisely. Wisdom which is the application of learned knowledge and principles has a mere and straightforward requirement: Learning. You can only apply that which you have learned. It is therefore our responsibility to cultivate a culture of continuous learning.

The requirement to learning anything is curiosity. I have come to find out that one cannot be curious and emotional. Curiosity is often accompanied by rationality which can then lead to certain feelings or emotions being developed and expressed, more like the <Schacter-Singer theory>. The better we can think about a situation, the better we can discern and decide which action route to proceed with. This is where standards come in handy, they do not necessarily tell us what to do, but rather tells us where to look to do what needs to be done. A ship captain’s best ally is his navigation system and no matter how experienced he gets a good captain makes decisions based on the information he gets from the navigation system. It can thus be argued that a good standard for a ship’s captain is a good navigation system. The question we should ask ourselves more often is “what are my standards?” This is because the answer to this question determines what we do and don’t, where we go, who we allow in our lives and what we spend our resources on, of which the most valuable is time.

It could be argued that life needs to be lived on the fly and embrace it moment by moment. However one should also realize that it is far better to use the present to build for the future regardless of the lack of guarantee attached to it. That said, it’s better to have and never need than need and not have. As we journey through life, we should take care of developing standards that serve us better than habits that momentarily relieve us, only for us to get back down to reality and have to face the same challenges. Yes challenging times grow us. However, I am of the belief that unnecessary hardship that can be avoided should simply be avoided.

In conclusion, living like we pray may look different for each of us, but ultimately follows the same principles. As we ask, we have to also trust that our needs are faithfully being taken care of. That said, more than ever our commitment to doing what is right and doing it at the highest level should fuel our actions. James 4:2-3 says “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly to spend on your passions.” I believe it is safe to deduce that the most important in walking through life is having the right heart posture and pursuing what is truly honorable and of service to all, including ourselves, not for selfish gain, but for right living.