Do you have many ‘always’ in your life? Do you think about your always’s? Personally, I find that the older I get the fewer always’s I have, but those I do have are strongly embedded in who I am. I don’t take them out occasionally and dust them off, they are operational in my life – often daily. But what about your always’s? Do they define you? ‘How’ do they define you?
Always, for me, has proved to be a springboard in many situations. They don’t confine me rather they are a foundation on which to experiment, refine and in some cases toss out and discover a new one. At this point a definition would aid in understanding. What I’m talking about when I say ‘always’ is a set pattern of behaving and thinking that emerges ‘automatically’. Always is not necessarily a ‘fall back’ position as much as it is so ingrained that it operates almost without thought. To me, anything that operates ‘almost without thought’ can be dangerous though. You have to be confident in your always’s but you have to have your mind engaged as well.
Always is never intrinsically ‘bad’ but it is always loaded with a lot of emotion. The problem stems from the unthinking part. If your ‘always’ is only emotion without any thought then you are subject to challenge continually without substance. Always is a ‘founding’ principle in your definition of who you are. If it isn’t… it isn’t always. Always also touches every part of your life, nothing is excluded. And to repeat myself – always isn’t a ‘bad’. The question should be:
what has moved from always into a given?
There should never be anything excluded from your refinement on always. Except… I would say that a belief in Jesus as Lord would be the one aspect that isn’t included – at least it is for me. Faith in Jesus has evolved into the ‘given’ category which is beyond always. Do you have certain exclusions? Are there areas that you are certain, that can stand the test of challenge without threat? If you do then these may have moved into your set of givens.
…but, what do you think? what do you believe?
