By David Hegg
Earlier this week I was asked if writing a weekly column is becoming a chore. It went like this. “Do you ever get tired of facing a deadline every week? Do you think there will come a time when you’ll just get so tired of it that you’ll stop doing it? After all, you’re not being compensated, right? And don’t you think it’s just one more thing you have to do in an already busy life?”
It got me to thinking, and here’s what I’ve come up with. While the possibility exists that someday writing this column may get old, even tiresome, I can’t see myself getting tired of writing. And while I’m not compensated monetarily for my work, don’t for a minute think there isn’t a great personal reward in doing so.
I enjoy the challenge, and I also enjoy hearing from some who read my thoughts and are spurred on in their own thinking. I appreciate those who thoughtfully disagree with my perspective, and thereby, help me keep learning. And I have to admit it’s fun to tell my granddaughters that Papa is a columnist, even though it has yet to impress them even a little.
And as for the weekly obligation being just another thing that puts pressure on my time and energy, the fact is, that’s what life is supposed to be for in my judgment. Let me explain.
Of all the great questions in life, one of the biggest is this: Why am I here? We all either answer this one, or spend our lives ducking it. But either way, the question pre-supposes that life is to be lived fully. We only have so many years, days, hours and minutes. And while our years may appear too long, in reality our lifespan amounts to the width of a hair laying across a yard stick when compared to time and eternity.
The Bible characterizes life as a vapor that is here and gone, and as grass that flourishes one day, and is gone the next. The point is simply that we ought not to take our time here for granted. Even better, we would do well to squeeze every ounce of benefit out of the days we are given.
For me this means trying to influence as many people, with as much truth, as I can. I make no bones about it. I’m here to influence you in the ways you think and live, whether you agree with me or not. I’m here to make you think, to analyze your life, to examine your core values and see if they are a worthy foundation for your time on this Earth.
In short, I’m here to promote an ethic built on the belief that God exists and has accommodated and revealed himself to us in a way we can both understand and put to work. This ethical system has proven valuable for many down through history, and it has for me. As long as right and wrong are recognized and appreciated in this country, I hope to be here pleading with you in writing to test the validity of your world-view, and choose to view every day as an opportunity do right by God and your neighbors.
And who could ever get tired of that?
Local resident David Hegg is senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. “Ethically Speaking” appears Sundays.
