Philosophers
and theologians often tell us that our life on earth is a journey. The trip
begins from the womb, not when we are born, and expires on our demise. With 120
years stipulated in the Scriptures (Genesis
6:3) as man’s maximum life span, that’s a really long trip. During the
trip, there are adventures, celebrations, achievements, friendships,
disappointments, failures, stress, enmity, etc. Shakespeare puts it this way;
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women
merely players;
They have their exits and their
entrances;
And one man in his time plays
many parts…” (From “As You Like It” Act 2,
Scene 7)
As a teenager, your trip has barely begun.
You’ve been probably told, lots of times, that you have your ‘whole life ahead
of you’. It is true. Your life trip is going to be very eventful any moment
from now. You think you’ve seen it all? Don’t bet on it. There’s more ahead of
you than behind and current. You can choose to travel heavy or travel light.
Now
there’s something I know about teenagers (remember, every adult was once
one)…we like to explore and are adventurous and we like it better unaided and
without any impediment whatsoever. You will never appreciate the cocoon you’ve
lived in up till now until you face the ‘real world’ and it is a different game
out there. As you loosen yourselves from the ‘shelter’ of your parents and
guardians, and launch into your further journey, you will find that there are
as much excitement as there are frustrations; as much temptations as there are restraints;
and as much adventure as there are empty pursuits.
And
that takes me to Ephesians 5:15-17,
“Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with
honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not
as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people], making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking
advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because
the days are [filled with] evil. Therefore
do not be foolish and thoughtless, but
understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is”.
You can travel
heavy when you choose to live carelessly. “To be careless
in any area of life is to gamble with disaster. But in order to not be careless
someone has to be cautious. Being cautious is not exactly the most celebrated
trait in our culture today. However, not being cautious is driving down the
road of carelessness to disaster” (Quote from jbrackbill in the article, ‘Careless Living vs.
Cautious Living’).
But you can
travel light when you walk and work in the will of God and refuse to live as a
fool. The Scriptures are full of descriptions of foolish people. They are opinionated
(Proverbs 18:2, 7); lack self control
(Proverbs 29:11); despise intelligence
(Proverbs 1:7); are garrulous (Proverbs 18:6); are noisy and argumentative
(Proverbs 29:9); are conceited (Proverbs 28:26); delight in doing wrong
(Proverbs 10:23); are reckless (Proverbs 14:16); do not recognize the
sovereignty of God (Psalm 14:1); are
susceptible to reproach (Proverbs 3:35);
are gullible (Proverbs 14:15); are
quarrelsome (Proverbs 20:3); are
destructive (Proverbs 14:1); are
gossips (Proverbs 10:18); bring heartache
to their parents (Proverbs 17:25); just
to mention a few. Living your life after this fashion can be a heavy burden.
Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily
burdened [by
religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”
Whenever
I listened to ministers preach from this passage, their slant was towards the
stress and troubles of this world but my recent meditation took me to the
Amplified Bible where I got more understanding of some matters that have
troubled me lately. I have watched pastors quit the clergy; workers in the
church throw-in the towel; young people abandon the faith; and members of the
congregation go back to the world and I often wondered why anyone who has ‘put
their hand on the plow’ will look back! Their main grouse was that they were
going through the spiritual motions with no significant change in their
lives…they were gorging on spiritual food from the church, regularly, but were
feeling empty.
You
can immerse yourself in the home, school, workplace, community, and
church…regular activities, active participation, volunteering, financial
contributor, etc, but it’s excitement but no fulfillment. In your life travel,
you will experience cheers and jeers; pats and knocks; and possibly,
carry burdens best described in Galatians
5:19-21, “The things your sinful old
self wants to do are: sex sins, sinful desires, wild living, worshiping false gods, witchcraft, hating, fighting, being
jealous, being angry, arguing, dividing into little groups and thinking the
other groups are wrong, false teaching, wanting something someone else has, killing other people,
using strong drink, wild parties, and all things like these. I told you before
and I am telling you again that those who do these things will have no place in
the holy nation of God”.
On the other
hand are those who are conscious of their travel duration and life purpose; teenagers
who are mindful of their purpose in life and have taken the decision to live
carefully. With all the pleasure in the world, they choose wisdom and restraint
and the life of Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit that comes from having the
Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being
good, having faith, being gentle,
and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things”.
Ask any
medical practitioner, the latter is a lighter load than the former, whether
physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. The former comes
with strife, guilt, crime, fatigue, disaffection, wickedness, etc, all of which
bring negative turbulence to our spirit, soul and body. The ‘burden’ in the
latter, on the other hand, is so light and gives rest.
In
life, you can’t be eating your cake and still having it on your plate. Every
time you eat a piece of it, the quantity depletes, not increasing. The careless
life cannot be changed by man-made tactics and it leaves a huge and painful
burden to those seeking for succour but Jesus has given us a better option…
those who will go to Him will have their heavy loads taken away. Why? Because,
they will henceforth, travel light.
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