Leave a Legacy

Your daily dose of depressing: How much do you know about your great grandparents? How about your great-great grandparents? Or your great-great-great grandparents? Unless someone from your family tree has made its way into the history books somehow, chances are that you know next to nothing about the previous generations of your family, especially by the time you reach your great-great-great grandparents. Do you even know their names? I sure don’t…

So what? Well, unless you become famous, the same is going to be true for you in a couple generations down the road. No one is going to remember who you are, what you did, or why your life mattered. On earth, all that will be left proving your existence is a slab of rock with your name on it in a cemetery somewhere. Now, humor me for a moment, and imagine what else will be written on you gravestone. What is it that you want to be remembered for? But more importantly, what do those words represent?

They represent your legacy: Something that you will hand down that will impact generations to come, even though they’ll never know your name.

With that said, just because you leave behind a legacy doesn’t mean it will be a good legacy. You must make up your mind as to what kind of legacy you will form because it is something that you are building everyday of your life, whether you are aware of it or not.

So what kind of legacy should we build? The legacy of Christ. We must preserve the legacy he established while on earth. Just ask yourself, “Are people more like Christ because of me or in spite of me?” That is a question we should ask ourselves every day.

Leaving Christ’s legacy ultimately comes down to making disciples (followers/students) of others by teaching them to follow Christ (Matt. 28:19). If we invest in others in this way, we will impact the future. This is something you should be doing all the time and in all places. But before you can make disciples, you first must be a disciple. This means dying to yourself on a daily basis, spending time in God’s Word, having love for others, and abiding in Christ at all times. When it comes to making disciples, we should emulate Christ. How did he do it? He talked with people, he walked with them (had relationships), he challenged and corrected them (sharpened them), and most importantly, he loved them.

So, what does this mean for us? Pretend that you’re a bucket. Once your bucket has been filled and begins to overflow, find other buckets to pour into. Find someone in your town, church, school etc, ideally of the same gender (missionary dating/flirt to convert NOT ok :P) that you can disciple and empower with the wisdom and knowledge flowing out of your bucket. Discipleship is a relationship, a very powerful one at that. Ultimately, the buckets you pour into will begin to overflow and find other buckets to pour into, thus leading to a exponential increase of buckets being filled. That is how you build a legacy. Or, at least one worth passing along.

So really,since you’re a bucket, don’t waste your water.

Human Behavior: A Relfection of Belief

The following is an extremely abridged version of a paper I wrote back in December for a psychology class. The full version includes a much more in-depth discussion of worldviews, different religions and their impact upon behavior, as well as varying psychologists' views of religion, and to top all that off, a comparison between Freud and C.S. Lewis (!). If anyone wants to read the full text, let me know and I can e-mail you it in its entirety. NOTE: I included the explanation of Atheism at the bottom, as I mention it in this post and thought it needed more a bit more elaboration. Sorry if it seems a little out of place at the end...

Every day, it is extremely evident that what people believe has a significant impact upon their behavior. For instance, if a man earnestly believes, either rightly or wrongly, that his house is on fire, his actions are going to reflect his conceptions. This man will, if operating under good sense that is, leave his residence immediately upon the discovery and contact a fire department as soon as possible. Just as this hypothetical man’s actions reveal his belief that his house is aflame, a man’s behavior reflects his religious beliefs and worldview. Despite the varying opinions of psychologists, it is impossible to logically separate religious belief from human behavior without denying the intrinsic relationship of the thoughts and actions they produce. Ultimately, what a person believes and the assumptions lying behind those beliefs determine, to a large degree, an individual’s behavior.

To fully understand the implications of beliefs upon behavior, it is important to understand that everyone is religious. As defined in the eleventh edition of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, religion is “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.” This definition applies to every single human being, whether they recognize it or not. When it comes down to it, everyone has faith in some entity, whether it is nature, a god, or themselves. Even Atheists*, who are often portrayed as being faithless, really have just as much faith in their belief that there is no God as those who recognize the existence of a God. While perhaps unintentionally, everyone has developed principles and codes of morality through which they live life. Even though many of these compilations of assumptions are not established through a formal, recognized, or mainstream religion, they are essentially religious in nature.

This compilation of assumptions is also known as a worldview which is, as it implies, how a person views the world. It is through a personal worldview that people attempt to tackle questions concerning morality, their purpose in life, and how they relate to other people. The foundation for this framework of existence is formed upon two major assumptions which create entirely different motivations for behavior. In every person’s worldview, the two foundational items that must be addressed are the nature of man and the nature of God. It is upon these two columns that every single worldview is established.

It has often been said that ideas have consequences. If this is true, it is safe to conclude that beliefs, being the parents of ideas, have consequences as well. These consequences, good or bad, are often manifested through human behavior because they are direct results of the actions taken, or not taken for that matter, to fulfill one’s beliefs. Every time a person makes a decision, they are making a choice based upon what they believe their worldview tells them to be right.

In some instances, people’s actions are not consistent with their beliefs, and there are several reasons for these contradictions. Firstly, people may act differently than what they believe because they, in fact, do not fully know what they believe so naturally their actions do not completely reflect what their belief stipulates. Secondly, people might just not understand the implications of their beliefs. In the Christian faith, many people are apathetic about following Christ because they have not fully grasped who he was and the tremendousness of what he did. Finally, people’s actions might not fit their beliefs because they do not actually believe in their beliefs. Returning back to the Christian faith for sake of example, if a person truly believes in the power of prayer, they are going to pray. These are the reasons that account for the inconsistencies between actions and beliefs.

It cannot be denied how much of an impact religious beliefs, worldviews, and underlying life assumptions have upon behavior. The frame of existence these components create is utilized throughout every decision individuals make, and since these different beliefs produce different actions, it can be concluded that it does in fact matter what a person believes. As stated earlier, beliefs have consequences, both good and bad, and it is essential that individuals start to realize the role beliefs play in shaping actions. It is necessary to carefully examine one’s beliefs since those ideals will be reflected through behavior. For if one’s house is burning to the ground, it is the belief in flame that promises safety, not its denial. The belief in fire makes all the difference.

* As hinted at earlier, Atheists, although they are often anti-faith and anti-religion, make many assumptions that they accept by faith. Atheists must have faith that their doctrine against the existence of God is correct, just as one must have faith in the existence of God since neither can be quantifiably proven. The main assumption Atheists make is that there is no God. While this is the main tenant of their beliefs, there are many implications that follow this idea which also require faith. If they deny the existence of God, they must accept that there are no absolutes because morality shifts with the change in humans, society, and nature. They must accept that life has no meaning because humans are products of chance, not purpose. They also must accept that free will and dignity do not really exist because humans are just programmed to respond to a physical environment, thus leading to the conclusion that our minds and thoughts are not real. While some Atheists, such as B.F Skinner, have arrived at these logical extensions of their assumption, it is safe to say that many have not. If a person denies the existence of God and realizes the implications behind simply being biological machines, there is very little motivation to do anything extraordinary. As Freud suggested, if life has no meaning, then the main purpose of life is to discover happiness and to please oneself. As a result, if humans’ only purpose is to gratify themselves, it should not be surprising or worrisome when people act selfishly. In a true Atheistic worldview, people’s only motive for behavior is to please themselves, so if they do not want to or do not feel like doing a task, there is no reason for them to. These are several of the implications for behavior from an Atheistic perspective.

Patience: A reflection from fishing

For years, my family has spent one week each summer on Lake Vermilion in northern Minnesota, and naturally, being on a lake and all, fishing is part of the experience. As far back as I can remember my favorite kind of fishing has been pan fishing (that’s fishing for blue gills, sun fish, perch, etc.) The reason is quite simple: instant gratification! Seriously, if you know where the prime pan fishing locations are, you maybe have to wait 20-30 seconds before you have a bite, and on top of that, it doesn’t take much finesse to land a 5 inch (or less) fish into the boat. You’re practically guaranteed to catch a multitude of fish. But there’s a downside: You never really catch anything worth writing home about. The 100% chance of catching fish coincides with the other guarantee of pan fishing: Everything you catch is going to be shrimpy.

This past week, I have tried to broaden my fishing horizons by accompanying my brother and dad on their muskie fishing ventures, something that used to bore me out of my mind. As far as lake fishing goes, muskie fishing is what separates the boys from the men, or at least that is what my interpretation of the sport has led me to believe. These things are HUGE! 40-60+ inches, 20-30+ lbs, with big teeth, of course. The fishing lures used to catch these monsters are bigger than any pan fish ever in existence. There is nothing easy about muskie fishing; it’s hardcore. There is a well circulated adage among fisherman saying that you have to cast 1,000 times before you’ll even see a muskie, let alone catch one. This is far removed from the instant gratification of pan fishing. But when you finally catch a muskie, I’m sure all the casts are worth it.

So when we were trolling one day, at about the time I was starting to doubt the existence of fish, I began to compare pan fishing with this alternative fishing method. I decided that going hours/days without catching anything other than rocks and seaweed (my specialty) and then finally catching something remarkable would be far more gratifying than catching seven bazillion pan fish any day. Getting anything worth keeping requires patience.

Meanwhile, still no fish, I sat in the boat pondering how this concept from fishing applies to life in general. It seems like we’ve always been told the cliché that patience is a virtue, but I think we often fail to realize how important it really is. When we let impatience win, the results pale in comparison with what we could have accomplished and gained if we would have stuck it out. The big things in life aren’t instantaneous, and rather than settling for the cheap thrills of right now, taking the time demanded by many of life’s pursuits and challenges is so much sweeter in the end. Making educational decisions, dealing with suffering, friendships, waiting for answered prayers, finding a future spouse, etc. are all things that shouldn’t be rushed. Rather than being impatient and cutting yourself short, just wait; have patience. It’ll take discipline, perseverance, and commitment, and it’ll be hard, but it’s totally worth it in the end.

Whenever impatience is telling you to give up, just keep casting. One day, the big one is going to bite and you’ll sure be glad you waited.

Lessons From Spokane

I recently took a trip out to Spokane, Washington to visit some family (Uncle Tim and Aunt Leslie and my cousins, Margaret (and her husband Charlie), Joel, Spencer, and Eric). I had a terrific time, and everyone kept me really busy: Spencer’s baseball games, an afternoon at Loon Lake, Chemo w/ Aunt Les, an overnight at Priest Lake, cherry picking, bonfires on the beach, shopping, a wine and cheese party, live music at the Rocket Market with Joel, quality time at coffee shops, daily “revivifying” (that’s our word) swims with Aunt Les, and the list could go on. It was wonderful, to say the least. And did I mention that it’s absolutely gorgeous out there? And there isn’t humidity? Or bugs? I’m kind of in love with Washington.
In between and during all of our adventures, there were a few things I have taken away from my travels. (Most of these I probably gleaned from my chats with Aunt Les.)

1. We have a choice to make when we’re spending time with others. We can either spend time with people to seek assurance and gratify ourselves or we can spend time with others and seek to love and serve those we are with. The mindset you choose has a huge impact upon your attitude, actions, and of course, every single person you come in contact with.

2. Patient endurance is courageous. Patient endurance =Suffering through circumstances one would like to change but cannot. My aunt was saying how she didn’t feel brave to face her upcoming cancer-related surgeries, but she would patiently endure on a daily basis. I think that attitude is courageous…

3. You really should pray about everything. OK, so my Aunt and I were walking in downtown Spokane, gearing up for a shopping trip, and we had a mission. We were seeking jeans! Now, I have the hardest time finding jeans that fit, so this is always a challenge, but my Aunt wanted to find me a pair for a graduation present. So we prayed in the parking lot.
And we found a pair the first store we looked in. Amen!

4. So many of us are trying to be great when we only need to be good. We all (or most, I hope) have high standards and goals we aspire to, but when we discover we can't meet our own expecations, we find ourselves discouraged. We need to remember that merely being consistently “good” changes the world, too.

5. Look for evidences of God’s grace in the lives of those around you and then tell them.

6. You should pit cherries with a fork. (seriously, it’s so much faster :P)

7. Thank God for everything! And not just for the good things. Everything. Thank him for our sorrows and sufferings, because ultimately he has ordained them. (And he knows what he’s doing)

8. There needs to be boring, flat places like Iowa to make places like WA beautiful.

9. Another good coffee shop is always just around the corner…

Like I said, it was a great trip.