"Most Likely to Succeed"

I just learned about the Manhattan Declaration last week through a forwarded e-mail. Then our pastor mentioned it at church, so I went to ManhattanDeclaration.org and gave it a “look, see”. I agreed with the front page, so signed it.

This blog was going to be about how I don’t think signing this document will make much of a difference in America. And I still think that is true, as do the authors of the declaration. Unless the signing is also followed up with actions by the signers, but the actions I saw suggested on the website were not very inspiring to me. So I was going to say how those suggested action  items weren’t going to be very helpful to America (e.g. tell your neighbors about the declaration and ask them to sign it).

But to make sure that I wasn’t writing out of line, I decided to do a little more reading on the Manhattan Declaration website, and came away with the opposite opinion. What this declaration encourages Christians to do is, I believe, just what the Bible recommends:

1) Remember that people will know Christians by the love they show – nothing else matters if that is not first and foremost.

2) True religion is to take care of the widow and the orphan (e.i., take care of those who cannot take care of themselves).

3) People must be told about about Jesus. But remember No. 1 and No. 2.

There is so much more in the declaration, but these points stood out to me.

My cat loves any water, except the clean water in her dish. Her favorite is the water in the goldfish bowl. But she shows up every morning to lick the water off the door of my embarrassingly dirty shower, and bathtime for the kids always leaves her hankering for the gritty, soapy aftermath in the bottom of the jacuzzi.

I don’t understand it. The goldfish water smells fishy – not just from the fish, but from the additives I put in it to make it safe for the fish. Oh, then there’s the toilets, the bathroom sinks, half empty water glasses drooled in by one of the kids.

But when I put her water dish full of crystal clear, unscented water down, she walks over, sniffs  it, looks at me, and walks away. Every once in awhile she will humor me with a lap or two, but the amount of cat litter I scoop, does not correlate to the amount of water that disappears from her dish. And I have to refill the goldfish bowls more than what would be required simply from evaporation, even in the dry winter air.

My theory is this – she was born a wild kitten in my sister’s barn. She drank from a nearly stagnant rivulet that, I guess a generation or two ago had been used as a sewer. It is all she knew, and now, when presented with something different, though better, she snubs it.

I, unfortunately find myself doing the same thing at times. When presented with a new way of behaving, that will definitely bring more joy into my life than my current way of  behaving, I may give it a little try. But in the long run, I go back to the old lousy way of behaving.

I guess this is a common human problem, since Paul writes a whole passage on it in Romans 7. Verses 15 and 24-25 are my favorites of that section.

I am thankful, that, unlike my cat, whom I allow to continue to drink dirty water, God finds positive and negative pressures to encourage me to change, until, eventually, I want to choose the new, better route. Though I still get lazy and drink the toilet water at times, that happens less and less often, and he promises the same for all of us!

We just booked tickets to South Padre Island for Spring Break. I am so excited – almost nothing gets me down. I feel like I can endure anything – in 10 weeks I will be on the beach with my husband and kids! I need to make sure I have the right clothes for everyone. I think I may need to trim down just a bit so that I don’t need a whole new wardrobe, but my swimsuit does need replacing regardless.

Need to make sure that there are diversions for everyone for the plane rides, though they are not going to be too long. That is the benefit of living in the midwest – it is only 3 hours to the farthest point in the contiguous 48 states.

All of this excitement and preparation made me think of how I should feel about life, in general. I have a big, glorious mansion in heaven to look forward to. I should be preparing for that experience with the same zest and awaiting it with the same unassailable peace and joy. After all, God has promised that He will give me that mansion, and that he will sustain me as I eagerly await that day.

I should be more excited and preparing more zealously for heaven than for South Padre Island. After all, this world is full of uncertainties. There are many things that could happen to prevent us from going, or that could require us to leave early, or could cause us to have a lousy time while we are there.

But I am thankful that God understands my human frailty and is, as far as I know, allowing me to enjoy his wonderful creation on a vacation. And I thank Him for reminding me to look to him everyday with the same anticipation, since his promises of joy, fulfillment, and security are greater than those offered by an island vacation (though in my frailty, it is hard to fathom!).