Alright, let's get down to business.
I'm not going to lie to you. My life is pretty great right now. I'm surrounded by people who build me up, I'm doing well in school, I've got time to do things I want to do, and it's almost summer. Things really couldn't be much better. It's crazy how great this year has been. God has put a lot of people in my life that have and are currently helping me, for one. This is a big deal. I've always had a plethora of good friends who have had my back and are generally nice. It's because of this that I was so blown away by how great an impact these new people have made on me. I've learned that things are actually better without sarcastic comments and I'm just kidding being taken out of the vocabulary of a group. Being built up by others is powerful and rare in the world today, and I've been blessed with people who do this.
Let's go back to the sarcasm thing I mentioned a few sentences ago. God instructs us to use our words to build each other up instead of tearing each other down (Ephesians 4:29). All my life I've justified sarcastic comments by telling myself, It's not rude if they know I'm joking, and, It won't offend them, they're too confident for that. As it turns out, God directly tells us that 'joking' can definitely hurt others (Proverbs 26:18-19). He compares it to shooting arrows into a crowd - you don't know who you're going to hurt. Blindly throwing out insults and quickly taking them back is almost certain to hurt someone. This was brought to my attention by the book Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris. It's because of this book that I've decided to get rid of sarcasm, 'joking,' and whining (Philippians 2:14-16).
Lastly, I recently began reading the Unwind Dystology by the brilliant Neal Shusterman. I'm on book three right now, and have avidly recommended it to a few friends. One of them went ahead and picked it up and is currently on book two. The idea of this book is a world where parents can sign their teenagers up for something called Unwinding, where the child's entire body is donated and used for transplants. Obviously, there is some serious moral controversy among the people in this world. The terrifyingly dark idea is crazy, and is widely accepted by the people of this alternate America. The acceptance is almost as terrible as the act itself. I was discussing with my friend a certain part in the second book where a character who believes that families should tithe one of their children for God is being lectured by an ex-believer of this same doctrine on how it is not biblically correct. The lecturing character states that our life is a blessing, and that God's gifts to us are ours to enjoy; trying to give it back would be an insult to him. I was incredibly surprised by this, because, though human tithing would not be biblical, it would be for a completely different reason. Yes, our life is a gift from God. No, God's blessings aren't ours to enjoy. It is our duty to use these blessings to bring glory back to Him. This is why tithing of a person would be against God's will; it would be directly stopping a child of God from continuing their work in His field. I hope that you will keep this misconception in mind as you go do whatever you're about to - God did not bless you because He wanted your life to be leisurely. He blessed you because He wanted you to use His gift for Him (I know this book is an extremely sad example, but it got the point across).
Have a wonderful week and a beautiful day, and keep your mind on things that are better than most.
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