| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “How to inhabit time” Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Wax on, wax off” In his book “Overcoming Apathy”, Uche Anizor reminds us of a scene from the iconic movie “The Karate Kid”. Daniel, a somewhat scrawny misfit new kid, is being bullied without mercy by a group of boys at school, even being beat up by them. Mr. Miyagi is a quiet, mild-mannered, unassuming older man who just happens to be a karate master. He takes Daniel under his wing and begins to train him in the martial arts. But much to Daniel’s surprise and disappointment, his early training consists of doing menial chores, seemingly for Mr. Miyagi’s personal benefit. For instance, Daniel is instructed to wax Mr. Miyagi’s car – and to do so with precise movements, applying the wax and removing it in exact repetitive motions described by Mr. Miyagi as “wax on, wax off”. After a while Daniel complains that he’s wasting his time on menial tasks when he’s supposed to be learning karate. It’s then that Mr. Miyagi shows Daniel how it is that the “wax on, wax off” motions are actually key self-defense moves and that in order to become proficient in karate, these movements have to become second-nature to him. Anzior uses that story to help illustrate how important simple daily habits are in forming us into the people we are in the process of becoming. The fact is, we become what we do. Overtime, your habits form you. Therefore, give careful attention to the little things in your life. Especially the little things that have become habits. Are they good or bad? Are they progressively forming you into the kind of person you want to be, or are they taking you in the other direction? It really is true that first we form a habit, then our habits form us. An action repeated becomes a habit; habits overtime form character; and character determines your destiny. So, pay attention to the little things, the daily habits. How you inhabit time moment by moment – especially when it comes to habits that have morphed into sustained patters of living, determines the person you will be. That’s the point Paul was making in 1 Corinthians 9:24 (above). Here’s what he had to say in the rest of the passage: “So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” We become what we do. So, establish good habits instead of bad ones and then, “wax on, wax off; wax on, wax off; wax on, wax off ….” God bless, Pastor Jim |
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