An Open Letter to My Future Self

A few days ago, I found a letter in the mailbox.  It was addressed to myself… from myself.  It was from my senior year in high school, written as an activity with my high school fellowship as a letter of reminder for thanksgiving and life direction.  I was quite surprised at what I read– how some things in my life now are dramatically different and how some of my desires and thoughts are almost exactly the same.  So, inspired by the “open letters” in the blogosphere nowadays, an open letter to my future self:

Dear Matt,

I’m not quite sure how long into the “future” you’ll read this, but I realize that even in a matter of just a few years a lot will change.  I hope I’m getting you ready for it all.

I have a lot of hopes for you.

I hope some things don’t change at all.  I hope you still can appreciate a good cup of coffee.  I hope you can still enjoy a good hymn.  I hope you are still convinced that you don’t “need” an iPhone.  I hope you still write a lot.  I hope you’re still introspective, but that you’re also still outgoing.  I hope you still don’t take yourself too seriously.  I hope you still don’t have a problem with raising your hands in worship whether publicly or all by yourself.  I still hope you still see worship as a lifestyle.  I hope you still see the importance in moments of worship, though.  I hope you still have good guy friends that can challenge you.  You need them.  I hope you still have a desire to disciple guys as well.  I hope you still read a lot.  I hope most of your convictions about music don’t weaken, but that they develop and grow biblically.  I hope you still have some of the same aspirations and dreams about life and ministry.  I hope you’re even living some of those out when you read this.

Even more, I hope you change and mature a lot from who I am now.  I hope you go on Facebook less.  I hope you stop tweeting nonsense.  I hope you stop taking notes in church for no reason.  I hope you stop thinking it’s cool to stay young and that you spend more time doing things to grow up than you do trying to stay the same age.  I hope you learn more of what discipline is.  I hope you’re more patient.  I hope you see why it’s important to eat better and sleep and how these things that affect your life and ministry.  I hope you trust people more.  Give everyone the benefit of the doubt.  I hope you seek counsel more than trusting your own thoughts and conclusions.  I hope you pray more.  I hope you stop loving the world so much.  Your hope is in heaven.  I hope you grow in theology– in your knowledge of the things of God.  I hope you grow in the way you communicate with others.  I hope you grow in humility in light of the cross.  I hope you never think you’ve figured things out.  I hope you think through things in increasingly biblical and deep ways.

That’s not all.  I have more that I hope for you.  Please keep reading, Matt.  These next few things are not as much hopes as they are things I am praying for you about.

I’m sitting here at my desk looking around and I realize that I could either be setting you up for great times of growth and sanctification or complete and utter failure.  It’s telling what I keep within arm’s reach: a cup of coffee, my cell phone, an iPod, a Kindle,  my computer, my Bible, and a few guitars.  I hope all of those things stay within arm’s reach, but that you learn which things to reach for first.  Don’t get me wrong.  I hope you still enjoy reaching for your guitar, sending messages to your family and friends, and reading a lot of interesting articles and blogs.

That Kindle sitting there.  Reach for it with much frequency.  It, in a sense, represents a lot of other similar things in your life: it could be of great help, or it could mislead you in what seems like minor ways.  It holds a lot of wisdom and input from sources you trust a lot.  Most of the things you’ll read on it will be good.  Other things will be mediocre.  I hope that you are able to discern the good from the mediocre, emphasize the right things, and prioritize your life accordingly.  I hope you can effectively use your Kindle and other “Kindles” in your life with discernment.

Your computer.  I’m not too sure if it’ll be the same one by the time you read this, but I guess that’s besides the point.  It also embodies the approach you should have with a lot of other areas in your life.  There are extremely great things you could use it for, terrible and time-wasting things you could use it for, and things in between.  Right now, I use it for such a mix of things.  It’s a lot of fun, most of the time.  But I’m still learning how to use this thing for God’s glory.  I’m learning how to use it with a sense of discipline.  It’s hard.  I hope you learn to use your computer and other “computer”-like things with a sense of discipline.  I’ve been pretty distracted and undisciplined with these types of things up until now, but I will do my best to set you up with a life that pleases God with your use of these things.  I’m learning that these things are tools to be used for God’s glory– don’t forget that.

But I hope that out of everything you keep within arm’s reach, you reach for your Bible first.  You be much less likely to go wrong if that’s the case.  I think I’m developing that mentality for you right now, but I’m sure I’m not doing a perfect job of that.  So just make sure.  Please.  I’m not one to really advise you on too much (considering our relationship), but that’s one thing I’ll be pretty straight with you about.  Be in the Word and let it pervade the entirety of who you are, what you think, and what you do.  It will help you to love Christ more and hope for heaven more.

I’m trying to help you out as much as I can now.  I’m really trying.  I hope you can say you’re thankful for me.  I guess, ultimately though, there’s not much I can do.  I am praying for you a lot, and I know that God will work in and through you.

See you sometime soon.  Rather, I’ll be you sometime soon.

-Matt

An Illustration: 2 shots of espresso with 2 pumps of vanilla

Somewhat of a follow-up post to the last.  I’ve been having some good conversations with people about Bible reading and such.  I think this is because it is fresh on everyone’s mind, it being the new year time and all.

One of the most common debates/questions that seems to consistently come up is how to deal with reading the Bible when you really don’t want to or you know your heart isn’t in it.  As much as naturally I jump at even the thought of that as being oh-so-blatantly erroneous (judgmental thought, yes), I’m convinced after a lot of these conversations that there’s a certain sincerity and humility that is rather evident in all of this.  These are good things to be working through.

There are two things, both matters of “perspective,” that come to mind with this issue.  Holding these things forth with humility is the difference between jugdmental thoughts and helpful thoughts.

The first is worship.  To say “the heart isn’t in it” means that the purpose of the whole matter– personal worship to God– is being missed.  Bible reading brings knowledge and understanding, but for that to be the ends of the matter day in and day out would be to fall desperately short of the ultimate cause: life worship (in SO many ways) to God based on what He’s laid out for us.

The second is the issue of dependence.

Packs a punch.

I have to work really early in the morning sometimes.  Like 330AM early.  Luckily enough, I work at a place where getting free coffee isn’t too much of a problem.  To be more specific, 2 shots of espresso with 2 pumps of vanilla is what does the trick.  Within the first five minutes of arriving.  It’s gotten to the point where I need those shots of espresso to really be focused and productive any time I’m at work.  My coworkers can even tell when I didn’t have time to drink my shots yet.  Almost scary.  Apparently I really, really, really need my espresso.

The Bible should be the same way.  We should (and objectively do) really, really really need it to live life as Christians.  If we’re reading and worshiping correctly with our time in the Word (in terms of quality), there should be a noticeable difference between the days when we do and don’t have that time.  Our hearts need to be tuned to the very words of God so that we can be reminded of the truths of the Gospel, be reproved by the Word’s standard, and be refreshed by the peace we have with God through Christ.  Because only time in the Word will do that and so much more, we need to unabashedly depend on the Bible.  Our satisfaction, joy, peace, and other such things are anchored in consistent time with our Bibles.

Personally, this makes it non-negotiable.  This time needs to happen every day.  So, even if my heart is kicking and screaming or I am “busy” or I’m hungry or my dog ate my homework, I need to do what it takes to have that time.  The need (let alone the benefits) far outweighs the costs.  My heart needs that time to stay on track.  My mind needs that time.  My life needs that time.  Non-negotiable status, easily.

Now that gets me thinking all the more so: what things in my life am I more dependent on than my time with my Bible?  There are so many.  Is my joy anchored to money?  Often.  Are my thoughts cluttered with meaningless trivia?  Too much.  Is my peace rooted “me time?”  Selfishly, yes.

#1Worship#2Dependence.

That New-Year-Bible-Reading-Plan Post

I’ve been reading a lot of very good blog thoughts about the new year, resolutions, and Bible reading.  These, among other posts:

• Rick Holland’s post about his personal Bible reading plan and some related thoughts
• Jesse Johnson’s post about resolutions
• John Piper’s thoughts and plans in his post
• Justin Taylor’s offering of plans and possibilities
• Tim Challies’ 3650 Challenge.

Although I am planning to stick with my Bible reading plan that I’ve been using since sometime in the middle of 2011 (which happens to be the plan used in Challies’ 3650 Challenge), these godly men’s thoughts have been quite helpful in my thinking about the Word and the way that I approach this New Year’s “checkpoint.”

So, partly inspired by the posts above (but mostly just what I’ve found helpful for myself!), here’re some of my thoughts and suggestions on Bible reading as we head into 2012:

#1-Use a Bible reading plan.

Surprise, surprise.  I’ve found that this really brings some structure to my time in the Bible each day.  Life nowadays is too often characterized by the “tyranny of the urgent,” multi-tasking, and entertainment (hmm!) that when it comes to my Bible reading I find very little reason to not have a disciplined, structured time set out.  Not talking about quantity here, but structure.

A by-product of good priorities.

So whether it’s a self-developed plan of a chapter-a-day through certain books, something someone else has designed, or straight off the latest Bible-app-reader-thing, plans are helpful.  Sure, it can get routine or checklist, but I’ve found it’s been much easier to guard against those heart issues than it is to flounder around the Bible.  At least from my own experience, nine-point-nine times out of time I’ll end up in either an epistle or the Psalms if I don’t have a plan.  It’s not that bouncing around randomly won’t get you anywhere (it’s God’s Word, so anything more than nothing will be profitable), but I’ve found that consistent and predictable time in the Word–if rightly submitted to the Spirit’s conviction– is all the more profitable.

#2-Weave prayer and meditation in with reading.

Something I’m trying to learn how to do effectively.  These seem like pastor-ific things to do and are definitely hard things to start doing.  Not only are they biblical things to, it’s how God uses His Word to work change and worship to Him in our lives.  Spiritual disciplines come hand in hand!

#3-Read more than you think you should.

Okay, now I am talking about quantity.  I do like what Rick Holland said in his post:

It is better to read one verse worshipfully than multiple chapters dutifully.

Wise words.  Definitely true to a great extent.  I would disagree, though, in the sense that I often find my view of the Bible is not what it should be: radical devotion to it in reflection of my radical devotion to God.  For me, I’ve found that means reading more than less usually.  Although there are times where stopping short and spending the rest of my set time studying or meditating on a truth, in general I know that for my default-undisciplined heart I need to take in more of God’s Word than I think I need.  I need to know my weakness– having my mind on the things of the world– and battle that with what God’s given me in His Word.

#4-Read something to start your day.

Even if it’s one verse.  Or two words (“But God” in Ephesians 2:4).  Something to get your mind and heart rolling on the things of the Lord each day.  Insert plug for memorizing Scripture here (especially on days you’re running late!).

I’ve found too, though, that the physical acts of setting my alarm a decent amount of time earlier, getting out of bed in a timely manner, opening my Bible, and passing my eyes over the page have been very good exercises in discipline for me.  Discipline developed in reading the Bible while reading about things that will further bring discipline.  That’s really meta, I know.

#4.5-Read your Bible with coffee on hand.

#5-Read different parts of the Bible.

I mean this in two ways.  First, in the read-a-minor-prophet-every-now-and-again way.  Second, in the sense that I’ve come to realize how helpful it is every day– different parts of the Bible on the daily.  It’s helpful to see the continuity of Scripture, think on a how-does-the-plan-of-redemption-plan-work level, and ground your thinking in biblical concepts and multiple references.  So, however it might look, read different parts of the Bible than just what your favorite is.

In fact, to neglect the parts of the Bible that are for the scholarly to explore or are just too hard to understand is neglecting a large part of God’s Word to us.  Even if there are big portions of Scripture that are difficult to understand, there’s no way that we’ll begin to understand them if haven’t read them.  On the same note, I’ve found that reading anything only once almost never gets me to a point where I can fruitfully understand it.  Refer to #2!

#6-Put down other Christian books in favor of the Bible.

Not much to say here, except for the fact that it’s something that I’m constantly guilty of myself.  We all know the right thinking here– there’s no comparing God’s Word with books about God’s Word or books about things in God’s Word.  If I honestly know that I’m not spending adequate time in the Word, I need to have the firm conviction that other extracurriculars (even if usually good things) must fall by the wayside for the moment.  The Word must be of proper priority.  The discipline behind that obviously points to the idea that we must know our need for and weakness without the Bible’s convicting truths and timeless reminders.  When ideas like this are alien to me…

#7-If nothing else, re-examine your view of Scripture.

Not at all a critical suggestion.  It’s very helpful, and often necessary, to “take a step back.”  There are few times in life sweeter than times of submission to God’s will in life– times of prayer on one’s knees, lifting of hands in private worship, and refocusing the heart on God.  When I say “if nothing else,” I think I really mean “when the time comes.”  Of passages that are particularly helpful for me to pick apart when I’m having trouble with my perspective of the Bible, 2 Peter 1:3-4 says:

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Great reminder there of the confidence we can have in what He’s given us–everything we need.  The all-too-familiar 2 Timothy 3:16-17 always rings true (read it extra closely this time):

¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

He’s given us His Word.  How could we not give it the adequate time, effort, and response its due?  And, I must say that “adequate” is a very relative word, my friends!

The 405 Sessions #2: Oh The Deep

Enjoy.

Come Thou Long Expected NBA

It’s Christmas Eve today.  That means Christmas is tomorrow, Sunday.  The NBA also starts up tomorrow.

Let’s be honest.  There’s an obvious conflict in some of our hearts’ and minds’ attentions with the NBA, Christmas, and church being on the same day.  My point here is not to call everyone out on being excited for the NBA season.  We all know the right thinking here– to guard from the NBA overtaking the “real reason for the season.” I trust most of us are actively battling potentially sinful thoughts and mis-priorities in this regard.  And I’m glad for that.  That’s good.

Rather, my point is to use this situation where our sensitivity is heightened by the Christ-centered season to strengthen our convictions for times when it is not heightened.

So, how about when there’s no “reason for the season” reason?  When it’s not Christmastime–when there’s no reason to have a heightened awareness of our possible mis-prioritization?  How do we do with mis-prioritization then?  Do we crowd out thoughts of Christ and breeze through church on the regular?

We need to see Christ, the church, and other biblical priorities in life in a way that these types of “issues” of priorities become non-issues!

I Got a Kindle #firstworldblessings

I got a Kindle last week.  I like it a lot.

For the past few months, I haven’t had a computer (I keep alluding to a post about that, and it will come!).  The Lord has really used that period of time to challenge my thinking on technology and the way I use it.

One of the practical manifestations of that time has been an increased appetite for reading.  Reading rocks.  Overall, I’ve come to the conclusion that (1)more Bible is always good and (2)other Christian books are good too but end up being expensive.  Womp womp, dilemma.

Enter the Amazon Kindle.  Great tool.  Grabbed one on Craigslist for a really, really good price.  It packs quite a punch and might not be something everyone nowadays is looking for, but for me it’s been a really neat thing to have.

Some assorted pluses to the Kindle that I’ve found:

• lots of free older books/authors (think Edwards, Bunyan, etc.)
• reads PDFs well (free Piper PDFs, resources saved from before, sheet music)
• most books are cheaper than the hard copies
• you can send personal documents and PDFs to your Kindle
• highlights and notes are indexed
• the anti-glare screen is superb
• battery life is a non-issue
• portability/accessibility=wowow

After some research I ended up with what they call the “Kindle Keyboard.”  It is not the latest version (the Kindle Touch is).  The Kindle Keyboard 3G that I have has two advantages over other versions (including the Touch): 3G works for the browser anywhere not just the Kindle Store, and landscape view functions for personal documents.  Minute details for anyone who cares.  Anyone? Crickets.

My Kindle has a web browser which can be used anywhere there’s Sprint 3G signal.  That’s definitely a plus in my books (can be used to get directions, etc.)  But it’s definitely not something to hang your hat on.  I’ve actually found that part of what sets the Kindle apart from– say, the Ipad– is that the incapability of the Kindle is what will keep me reading and not watching videos or playing with other things on it.  Sounds strange but it’s entirely true.  I can take my Bible and Kindle to Starbucks and sit there for hours relatively focused on reading.

To be honest, I still see the need for print books.  There are some books that I’m just going to want to read, mark up, highlight, underline, and own.  My Bible being one of them, but not the only in such a category.  However, the Kindle really creates a whole new facet of reading for me where there’s no excuse to not read (if that makes sense).  The accessibility, portability, and reference-ability are no-turning-back features of the Kindle that I am enjoying greatly. I’m not going to guarantee that a Kindle will grow your desire to read, but if you at all consider yourself a reader (or growing reader!) this is definitely worth a shot.

Fighting the Amusement Park Syndrome, Part 1

This post begins a discussion of something that’s been on my heart and mind for a while. It’s definitely (and hopefully obviously) something I’m still working through and will have to be for a long, long time.

THE ISSUE

The amusement park: a place of wonderment and happiness for all. Booths and attractions up the wahzoo, the thrill of the 50G roller coaster, torso-sized turkey legs and not-so-personal pizza slices, impossible games that offer ridiculous prizes, and, of course, the token merry-go-round.

It’s almost like you could spend your whole life there and not get bored…

Life would be great, wouldn’t it? The worries of the outside world would be gone. You could spend weeks on the ferris wheel taking in the view, and you could even sleep on it just to see what it felt like. Then, when you got tired of the ferris wheel, you could work your way up to the spinning tea cups. Then, the roller coasters. All along, you’d be munching on hot dogs and garlic fries and taking photobooth pictures with every one of your friends.

Endless amusement.

Life would be great… for a while. Then, the amusement would start to wear off. For some, this disillusionment might come rather quickly. For others, it would take a long time (if ever) for the amusement park life to become a drag. Even the thought of going back to the outside world would be too much.

Our generation lives with this situation, an “amusement park syndrome” of sorts. We live in a world of accessible entertainment: the smart phone, the laptop, the television, the television on the laptop, and everything else in between.  Most everywhere we turn or go has access to an entertainment outlet.

We can’t go a few hours without seeing an analogy from an episode of our third favorite show.  The television becomes “just background noise.”  Video games slice into the possibly-necessary-not-quite-scheduled-in-but-important category.  Whatever the specific issue, life becomes defined by things that entertain and amuse us rather than things that take effort and discipline.  We let the world of entertainment and amusement define, run, and fuel our lives.

Three ideas, to help us further set bounds for THE ISSUE:

#1: Our lives are endlessly amusement-oriented.  This is no new idea of mine.  But it’s the basic idea of the “amusement park syndrome.” We entertain ourselves with everything in sight.  When we run out of easily accessible ways, we find new ways to entertain ourselves.  And since so many of these outlets and influences are “endless” (new hilarious online videos everyday, video games that you can’t just beat and be done with, multiple season shows that overlap with other multiple season shows that are stream-able anytime, etc.), we’re set to spend a lifetime with the “amusement park syndrome.”

#2: The world around us is going to be the way it is.  The outlets and influences will be there.  Nothing’s going to change.  At the same time, we’re going to need to live in this very same world to carry out what the God of the Bible has set out for us.  So to skip ahead just for a little and so you don’t think I’m crazy: I’m not calling for a wholesale change of the way we live, the places we go, or even the phones that we have.  Changing specific behaviors or monk-ifying our lives isn’t going to change anything.  Always, always– heart issues and not behavior modification.

#3: It’s a lot worse than we think.  I’m no conspiracy theorist, but our generation has this mentality deeply engrained in us.  Partly, this is because our generation has grown up with these influences, but at the same time it’s grown into an accepted way of life.  It’s an accepted way of life, so long as you go to church and fellowship, read your Bible more often than not, and have at least a mediocre prayer life.  In this “amusement park syndrome,” we can’t see the world outside of it.  This means that with this issue, we need to dig quite a bit deeper than we realize.

And… we’ll dig deep.  Like I said, this “amusement park syndrome” is something I am always wrestling with in my own life.  I’m excited to work through this one more.  Part 2 soon.

Two Questions, #1

New kind of post for me: pairs of questions that help highlight for me some of the heart issues and thinking points on “real life” matters. One “extreme” and the other a more reasonable version of that “extreme.” Trying to say a lot without having to actually say it. Here’s the first pair:

Extreme: What if all the time we spent on social media outlets went toward reading the Bible?

Reasonable: What if 5 minutes of the time we spent on social media outlets went toward reading the Bible?

An Illustration: Innocent, Cute, Little…

Babies.  Most of the time, people love them.  They’re cute.  They’re almost hard not to love.  They’re cheek-pinchable, peek-a-booing, drooling little bundles of joy.  Or blobs of joy.

Then they grow up a little.  They become toddlers.  Or terrors.  Little terrors.   Sometimes their innocent, cute, little antics are just too much!  Don’t get me wrong–they’re still cute.  And they’re still little people.  So, I’ll admit: most of the time they’re fun to have around.  Most of the time.

One of the exceptions to that “most of the time” was yesterday at church. During the main service, a couple sitting in front of me decided to bring their toddler with them into the worship center.

Things started off well.  The kid was cute and seemingly well-behaved, and she sat there quite nicely in her mother’s lap.  But as time went on, the little girl grew a bit restless.  She started by looking around at the people around her.  They would smile, make a goofy face to make her smile, and turn their attention back to the front of the worship center.  As time went on, this wasn’t enough entertainment for the little the little girl got out of her mother’s lap and started walking back and forth in her pew row, drawing the attention of a few people in her row.

At first, things were fine.  The people would play with the girl, give her their hands, and smile at her.  Every now and then, her mother would scoop her back up and sit her back down for a minute.  The little girl would twist, turn, and get out of the pew again and walk back over to her new friends.  This process repeated itself several times.

After that became dull for the toddler, she pulled all of the offering envelopes and registration cards out of the pew in front of her.  After that, she grabbed a water bottle from her mother’s purse and repeatedly said in her little voice,” Wada.”  Then with a package of baby wipes in hand,” Wipe.”  The mother would oblige to her requests, trying to do whatever she could to quiet her child down and still somehow listen to the sermon.  What appeared at first an innocent, cute, little kid become a big distraction from the worship service.  The people around were struggling to pay attention to the sermon– at first because they were amused by the child, but later because they were almost annoyed by her constant activity.  If the service lasted a lifetime and that little child’s innocent curiosity continued the way it was going, she would have wreaked havoc on the whole worship center!

Often, I’m afraid that’s actually the case. We let “toddlers” run rampant in our lives.  Outside of the worship center.

These “toddlers” are things in our “worship service” lives that are inherently good.  When used appropriately, for the right reasons, and for the right amount of time, they’re fine.  It’s when we let them get out of hand that they detract from the original purpose of our lives– to bring glory to our great God through our lives.  They distract from our life’s worship.

The point isn’t to weed these things out.  It’s not sinful for these things to exist in our lives.  Instead, it’s the lack of discipline that is dangerous and distracting.  In a lifetime, these “toddlers” wreak havoc on our entire lives and have a profound impact on us spiritually.  If these “toddlers” are disciplined and well-behaved, they have every right to be in our “worship service” lives!

The trick is figuring out what those “toddlers” are for you.  Then installing discipline with them. Not an easy task.

And don’t ask why I remember so many details about the little kid.  I remember the sermon too, okay?!

A Lesson from 5th Grade

Fifth grade.

Kingship of the yard. Cursive mastery. First year out of the short little groups-of-six desks and into forward-facing standalones. All fifty states and their capitals by memory. Easy peasy multiplication.

Fifth grade was a big year, looking back on it now. Crucial. What greater academic achievements were there than in the upper middle echelons of a K-8 public school? We were at new heights of knowledge and unforeseen levels of intellectual greatness!

I remember there were several classroom exercises that stretched my young brain that fateful year. Math, in general, was certainly one (and still is). “Science” time using the microscopes was another. Using the mirrors to reflect the right amount of light on those old microscopes was a difficult task to say the least. One of my favorite challenges, though, was during the English literature portion of the class.

The “Critical Thinking” questions at the end of reading passages in that paper-bag-covered reader. At the end of each story, there would be a few easy reading comprehension questions about the facts in the text. Then, there they would be. The “Critical Thinking” questions that inevitably brought our 5th-grade genius to a halt.

It was the section that departed from the literature text itself for just a little bit and got you to think about more than just the obvious. These questions made the connections to life issues and intangible concepts like peace, happiness, and love. They brought us a step further in our ability to think for ourselves and question the wider purposes of the story. As much as a 5th grader could. And in a there’s-almost-no-wrong-answer-as-long-as-you’re-PC-when-you-share-with-the-class kind of way, of course. All for the sake of trying to develop critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking skills.

They’re something we tend to lack as Christians. And we most definitely lack them as 18-to-twenty-something-year-old Christians. I’m no expert as to why, but whether it be from thinking that a higher education means that we automatically are convinced that we think through things or from more simple reasons like pure laziness, I’m not sure. Probably a combination of a lot of things.

What I do know is that Proverbs 14:15 says:

The simple believes everything,
but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

Very direct.

A statement, to be sure– but ultimately an admonition for us to think. Scores of other proverbs in Proverbs would agree heartily.

Too many times we are too prideful, lazy, unaware, or even uncomfortable to think that we need to think. We need to give thought to our lives. We need to spend time churning things in our heads and letting our decisions, emotions, and desires to be informed from a framework of the Bible’s wisdom. Not easy stuff, granted.

To break it down a bit, I think there are 3 ways folks “our age” lack in thought:
#1 Focus
Completely disregarding certain areas in thought. For example, we often give much thought to our stewardship of education or ministry (and that’s great!), but other things that are also biblical areas of stewardship are skipped in our thinking (social maturity, ecclesiology, eschatology, finances, etc.). Whether for lack of awareness, lack of effort or intentional stiff-arming, absence of thought is dangerous. Ignorance is anything but bliss here.

#2 Emphasis
Having the right focuses, but stressing one or some much more than others to the point where it’s spiritually unhealthy. For example, giving the time to develop a complex theology of dating and relationships, but spending little time mulling over the ins and outs of Christ’s redemptive work. Any thinking that is biblically grounded but over- or under-stressed is maybe not-so-biblically-grounded (and could possibly be selfish too!).

#3 Depth
A mile wide but an inch deep. No examples needed here; this one’s all around. This is where I’m afraid many of us go wrong– we can’t and don’t think critically and effectively through biblical issues like we should.

Often, our thinking falls short in one way or another and our prayers are therefore short and weak. Our struggles with sin are futile, and our love for others is pitiable. But we can’t seem to figure out why. Many times (although obviously not always), it’s because we don’t think. We don’t think cause we haven’t trained our minds to. We don’t think because we can’t, and we can’t because we don’t.

We must replace this feedback loop with a different loop: one of the Bible, prayer, and thought– one that takes the truths of God’s Word, prays through them, and thinks through them. We’ve got to have all three of those steps. It’s only then that we can start to live our convictions.

We can’t expect to live for and come before a God in biblical humble dependence if we haven’t adequately explored the Word, tuned our hearts to His glory through prayer, and thoroughly given thought to the issues specific to our lives.

Think!