Conversation Point

In This Moment

Confirmation Hearings

History is in the making once again. Senate hearings are about to begin to determine who will fill the vacancy left on the Supreme Court by the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Justice O'Connor made history herself as the first woman named to the Court over twenty years ago. These hearings draw, and require, our attention because whoever receives the power of this appointment will help shape the future of our country for the next twenty years to come with their judgments.

Our own decisions and judgments can have lasting effects as well. Choosing a carpet color, for example, is something you are going to be living with for awhile. And the carpet decision will then dictate all the other choices in that room: wall color, draperies, sofa fabric, wall decor and pillow designs. One wrong selection back there at the beginning and, well, you are living with a momentary loss of reason or taste for years to come.

The choice regarding a life partner is a fairly important decision with lasting effects too. Not unlike an inadvertent carpet selection, a less than accurate choice in partnership can bring you up short five, ten or twenty years later, wondering why your life doesn't match up with your hopes and dreams. Choosing well can mean a well-lived-in life that feels warm, comfortable and joyfully challenging. There may still be some new pieces you would like to add, but there is room to grow.

Attitude is another life choice that can have serious long-term consequences. I believe it was Albert Einstein who said that we must each decide whether we live in a friendly world or a hostile world. What difference does it make? Luke 6:37-38 gives us a pretty clear picture: Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back. How you view the world is likely how you will behave in the world, whether you are conscious of that or not. What you are more likely to be aware of is what the world feels like when you enter it on any given day. In his PBS special, The Power of Intention, based on his book of the same title, Dr. Wayne Dyer talks about how some people wake up looking to be offended, and they are not disappointed.

There are plenty of reasons to be offended each day, too many to name. And there are so many reasons to feel that "good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over." We can search out the companionable and friendly each day, or the miserable and hostile. You've met some older folks who have consistently chosen one side of that fence or the other. What do these people look like to you? And what do you want to look like when you reach their age?
As the Senate gathers, they are aware of the implications of their choices in this important work. But each of us faces the hard work of choice each day of our lives. The blessing is that how we choose will come back to us in the measure we give of ourselves and our faith to those choices.

Until next time, God's blessings.

posted by Cory L. Kemp @ 10:34 PM