Managing Our Gift of Life

In this gift of life we see the negativity that captures us. We wonder why the love that we are capable of doesn't get practiced as we ply this gracious life, both you and me. Our need to control this gift is sure; to this we cannot seem to die.

The self-centeredness we fight both day and night is a pattern, one that seems to be our plight and the consequences we do reap, that ultimately come to pass. The actions we so freely take, and leave so many lost in our wake, are always nasty in their toll.

This right we exercise is so precise; that we find it so easy to be cruel. Forgiveness and love are not to be found; for we are not looking for a way to bless a brother or a sister in our lives. Instead we seek to find a point of disagreement; so that we can make another pay a price.

We deliver pain without a thought about it. That we're a gift to each other we've forgot. The lessons are there, we've read and seen. If we'd only remember the things that we've been taught; our need for each other we must brightly see.

And in each other things will come to be. These things of life that keep us bound eternal, do bless us through the stumbling blocks of life. And then you can see the Christ in me and I in thee.

The Bible is full of instructions on how we should live our lives in a good and just way. One of many examples is in Leviticus 19:11: "You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord."

 As I seek to understand the Lord’s role in my life in new ways, I am constantly reminded of a way that we can deal with all the negatives that come out of our sinful nature. I have sought to use this method to overcome my anger, dissatisfaction, criticism and other afflictions in the past, but I have not thought of it in such a broad and intentional way as I do today. The more that I have tried to abandon to God in every aspect of my life, the more I have been able to use positives to overcome negatives in my life, especially with difficult people.

We should approach every moment in our lives as a wonderful gift from God, no matter what is going on at any given time. It all begins with compassion for or forgiveness of the other person. We must become abundant in love if we hate or are angry. We must acknowledge another's needs when we are full of selfishness. We must look for the good in the people we dislike.

There is a family story credited to my Great Grandmother that is a good example of positivity: There was a man that was considered an odd-ball troublemaker in my great grandmother's small town. The fellow had recently died and my grandmother was at a gathering with some town friends discussing the life of this fellow. After listening to all the negative talk about this fellow and his life, my grandmother spoke up with her thoughts. She said, “You know, he was a good whistler." We need to look for the "good whistle" in everyone and everything.