Daily Archives: September 16, 2014

Be True – Chaplains Moment for UCOA – September 15th

16 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by in cma

≈ Leave a comment

There is a saying “to thine own self be true”, which sounds pretty good, at least on the surface. It implies that I know what is good and right, for me. That is how it is. I am who I am and don’t try to change me. We might say we feel that way about certain things in our life, like our motorcycle, or our club, or maybe our favorite football team.   But, we do need to remember that not everything we believe falls into our category of absolute beliefs.

A second category of beliefs are a little less rigid, if you are a Harley rider, you might be willing to ride with me if I rode a Honda, or a Victory, but maybe not if I rode a Vespa. There just has to be a limit somewhere.
And then there is a third category of beliefs, that represent what I like, but aren’t worth arguing about.  I might like deep dish pizza, and you might prefer thin crust. We can agree to disagree, and maybe even share a meal where I don’t necessarily get what I prefer.

Some people give names for these categories, Essentials, Convictions, and Preferences.

  • Essentials are those thing we absolutely must agree on, or we don’t even talk to each other.
  • Convictions include things where we don’t actually have to agree, but we do agree not to talk about them. So, if you ride a Vespa, then I will meet you at the destination, but don’t me follow too close, because I don’t want anyone to know we are riding together, cause Vespas drive me crazy.
  • Preferences are even more flexible, like  your preference for shiny black paint and my preference for flat black paint.

What I would like to focus on tonight though, are the actions driven from these beliefs, and can best be described as “Be Your Right Self”. Be the person you know is the real you, the one that knows the right thing to do and does it. I know what I believe, I just need to follow through and get going. That’s a tall order I know. It isn’t easy making the right choices, sometimes they aren’t convenient, or fun. And, I know all too well that I haven’t always followed my own convictions, and I’m sure you are right there with me.

Fortunately not all of our bad decisions are permanent. Sometimes we get to have a “do-over”, or a “make-it-right”.
In the end though, I live by my choices, I can continue to say “to thine own self be true”, which places the burden of all of my choices squarely on my shoulders,
or I can say “to God be true”.  You see, to be true to God is to always be mindful of who God is, and to remember that He is always with me so I am able to make the right decisions and actually do the right things. When I trust in God, I can be sure He won’t fail me.
 
But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. —Isaiah 40:31
Note: I apologize to any Vespa owners. I was a proud Vespa rider about 50 years ago. Be assured that no Vespas were harmed in the writing of this Moment.