Pride of life
Here is included all those things which are done for show. Do you want the biggest house in West Lake? How about the showiest costume at the Met Gala which the Hollywood Reporter calls “Fashion’s version of the Oscars”? Mazzaratti in the parking deck? Grand living with sumptuous meals, over-the-top entertainment, etc., etc.
There is a great problem
Inside each of these warnings are good things. The problem all too often is excess. Questions like, how much can my girlfriend and I do before we get married and not get in trouble with God? Are BMWs and Mercedes ever legitimate for a Christian? What about a Corvette? How much money can I spend on travel before I tumble over the edge of excess?
Mindful Gray–paint for the bathroom/paint for life
Wayne Watson wrote a song called The Fine Line. He speaks of the edge on which we must walk between contentment and greed, between the things that I want and the things that I need. How do we live with so much and not flip over into excess? How do we aspire to great things and yet remain humble?
He concludes his song by saying black and white is so much easier. At least when things are painted this way you know when you have done right, know when you have done wrong. Walking on the edge, though, is how you avoid missing those you might help, and hurting those who are struggling. He says life there requires a surer foot than he has. He wraps it all up by saying it requires leading.
I like that for it is a good fit with reality. Life is not simple. It is not simply black and white, but a huge mixture of gray. We just painted one of our bathrooms in the color Mindful Gray. Perhaps that sums up this section as well. We need to be mindful of the Holy Spirit as we walk in the gray. This will help us stay away from both excess and isolation.
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