3-8-20 Living

Quote: “I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really.  Get busy living, or get busy dying.” – movie quote from “Shawshank Redemption”

“Shawshank Redemption” is on my list of top 10 best movies.  My favorite part is when the prisoner memorizes verses from the Bible and he is able to recite the verses he is asked about, right on the spot to the warden.  This keeps the warden from looking through the pages in his Bible.  If he wouldn’t have been able to say those exact verses, the warden would have opened up his Bible and found the hidden tool buried in the pages, the very tool that he had been using to slowly chip away at the bricks in his cell, which would eventually become a tunnel that allows him to escape to freedom.  Such a great moment!

There are so many great lines from that movie, but this one about living versus dying is my absolute favorite.  It will always be in the back of our minds that we are all physically dying.  There is nothing we can do to stop the inevitable.  We can shorten or lengthen the time, but the outcome is the same.

We will all eventually die.

So we have 2 choices.  Every new day we have a choice.  Are we going to spend the day going through the motions – working, cleaning, driving, eating, taking care of our families?  Or are we going to focus on putting more life into our day – encouraging, serving, leading, giving, helping?

I believe it’s a matter of perspective on how you look at each of your days.  Instead of grumbling about making that peanut butter and jelly sandwich, write a note to go with it that makes your child’s day.  Instead of sitting in a parking lot waiting for your child to finish up at a practice, use the time to pray over people in your life that are hurting or send them a verse of encouragement that matches their life situation.  Instead of just shopping for the items on your grocery list, pick up some extra things in case someone comes into your life that needs blessed.  Or instead of checking off the tasks on your list of “to do”s at your job, do them with excellence knowing your attitude and work ethic are a reflection of your character and your family’s legacy.

To me, dying is going through the motions, meeting the minimum of helping others, and being focused on making ourselves happy.  The Bible says in Proverbs 11:25, “The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”  It’s living others focused rather than self focused.  Instead of wondering how we can get ahead in life, it’s asking how we can help others have a better life.

I believe with my whole little heart that this is the key to really living.  I mean really, really living.  And that sounds a whole lot better than just living until we die.