Life Above Reproach Testimony

By:  William Mothershed

            There is an old Chinese curse that goes, “May you live in interesting times.”  We are surely there!  Half of the people around us want to tear out the throats of the other half.  Seriously, they are not happy if they do not have something to complain about and someone to blame.  I wake up every morning to the sound of two guys in my dorm going through their morning ritual of talking about all the people that offend them in some way.  It almost seems to have become the national pass-time.  It was not always this bad.  Today everyone seems to be on everyone’s case about something and I think it is making them a little crazy.  Is your little piece of the world anything like that?

            I have no solution for the big picture, not even looking for one.  My bible tells me the end times would be like this, so I am not surprised.  It is going to get a lot worse before the end, but there is room for us to make our own little pockets of grace and peace in the midst of the storm. 

            I made up my mind a long time ago that I am not going to add to the trauma and drama anymore.  I spread all the love and peace that I can, one person at a time.  It does not seem like much, each little piece all by itself, but I have seen it add up over time.  All it takes is to make the conscious decision to care about the people around you.  When you care about people, you build them up instead of tearing them down, help rather than hurt, listen, love, and actually give a damn about the things that steal their joy.  Easy to do for some people, harder for others.  I made a decision to even care about the ones I don’t like.  Not the easiest choice to make, but I have seen the results. 

            Need a challenge to give true meaning to your life?  Try being that increasingly rare treasure the world desperately needs.  The peacemaker in the midst of the storm.  It will not be boring.  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”  Matthew 5:9