Monday, March 12, 2012

Whatever May Come

Lately I have gotten to the point where cynicism rules my thoughts and plays upon my actions.  I find it amazing how many junctures there are in a day in which we make the choice to go up, or go down.  to be more clear about it, choices in which we can ride negativity and it's many paths or follow that positive spark leading to even greater heights. 

Lately life has been giving me the opportunity to follow the lesser path, and I have run with it every chance I've been given.  So where does all of the world's negativity truly come from?  Is it the fact that everything and everyone is evil in one sense or another?  Maybe the answer to this question can be explained by making the statement that man is handed a bad deal in general and these harsh conditions create a negative atmosphere.  I personally like to run with the ideal that man is inherently evil, and all of the vices and self defeating ways of our kind are generated by our own selfish desires.  This is hard to swallow for most people seeing as how they most often dislike finding themselves as part of the problem and not the individual facilitating the cure. 

The "High road", what does that mean?   How can I bring myself above all of the negativity that I find everyday?  Although I know there are many who don't want to hear it, the answer is God!  It is extremely hard to let that roll off of my own lips only because my own ambitious desires and foul language have driven me away from the point of speaking about such a positive focal point in my life lately.  The question could be raised, "Well how is it that you can cuss one minute and run at the mouth with nothing good to say and then turn around to call yourself a Christian the next?"  The fact of the matter is that God himself knows we are prone to mistakes day in and day out.  This doesn't excuse the things we do so that we can be forgiven one minute just to turn around and recommit the same act without so much as a sigh. 

The fact that we are able to admit mistakes, errors, omissions and poor choices in our lives is what God is looking for.  The second part is to do something about it, and that something is asking forgiveness.  I often imagine myself in the perfect place in life with my "book of wrongs" clear and sitting in the sunshine to hit that moment when I come to Him and ask that all of my black marks be taken away.  The reality of the situation is that magical moment will almost always elude me, and why, because life is not perfect and God is.  The high road is not doing the right thing everyday.  It is definitely not found by traveling or residing in a picturesque landscape that belongs on a computer screen saver.  My positive attitude rests with God and His plan for my life.  I leave you with some words from Chuck Swindoll, an inspirational Christian minister and evangelist.  These words will speak to you if you let them, or fall on a hard heart if so desired. 

 “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church....a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes.”
Charles R. Swindoll

Philippians 2:3-5

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