Beside the Holm Oak Tree

Stability and Satisfaction

When did the concepts of stability and satisfaction become something to be avoided?  As humans, we have a natural tendency to want stability and routine.  Think back when you were in school.  On the first day, the teacher assigned a seat to each student.  You knew where to go immediately upon entering the classroom.  All of your things were inside of the desk exactly where you left them.  It may have been well organized or a total mess, but you controlled it.  There was a comfort in knowing where you would sit each day and that all of your books and supplies were secure.  Occasionally, there was a teacher that may move the seating around a few times a year but it was not unusual to sit in the same seat all year.  

As adults, we tend to park in the same place at work, shop at the same stores, buy gas at a particular station and even sit in the same pew each week at church.  It eases the mind to not have to think about each thing we do, there is a routine to rely on.

Anyone who has taught school or raised children, know they do not like chaos.  They do not like their routines disrupted. Parent who have a set bedtime routine the kids can rely on have little problem with their kids following it.  Kids like justice.  If another kid is not following the rules, they are quick to point it out. 

The same could be said about satisfacton.  Why is there such a need for bigger, better and different?  Is there really a need to endlessly re-design a toothbrush?  Many companies are constatnly bringing out new models.  Sligthly different but still a new version!  We all know it is all for profit and not really a concern for a better result.  There are new phones that do things most people have no idea how to operate, cars that basically control how you drive them and appliances that are overcomplicated.  We want to have the newest version of so many things.  But why?

How is any of that bringing us closer to God?  How are we serving God and others when we are consumed by our goods?  What is wrong of having something that works and just keeping it?  Like the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  

Could a return to more consisten routine help with the instabiity and insecurity of so many young people today?  There is no doubt that a mental health crisis is going on.  Young people have more access to numerous forms of entertainment than ever before.  They have more ways to communicate than any previous generation.  They have more gadgets and modes of transportaion for pleasure that didin’t exist a few generations ago.  Yet, they are continually bored, constantly seeking more entertainment and always seeking more ways to entertain themselves.  They have everything and are bored to death.  The culture is telling them they cannont be happy unless they are constantly seeking more and more of everything.

Maybe it’s time to scale back,  stop giving in the the “new” thing.  Be satisfied with the simple.  Take pride in doing something for yourself, accomplishing a smalll goal, even it’s just to cook a meal from scratch, keep up a household and spend real time connecting with your family and your friends.

Put down your phones, cut way back on all of your screen time and share an activity with a live person.  

Spend time in silence where you can hear the voice of God in your heart.  Take a minute each day to gather your thoughts about your life and how you are living it.  Consider eternity before you make a big decision.  Will what you decide help you grow cloaer to God and cause you to have less time for God and others?

Slow down and live the life God chose for you.  Resist the pressures of others and society to conform to their expectations.  Be the person God created you to be.

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