Opportunities Life Gives Us
Lifestyles (Rich and Poor)
We all have a life style regardless of whether we realize it or not. Lifestyle is define as “the way in which a person lives” In the good old US of A, you can live anyway you choose to live. Rich or poor your lifestyle is all about the choices you make each and every day. I can choose to live conservatively, moderately, or liberally each day I live. In America, conservatives, moderates, and liberals choose the lifestyle they want. It can be one full of contentment or one full of misery. It all depends on the way they choose to live. Regardless if I am rich or poor, I choose my lifestyle.
How does one chose a lifestyle is really the question we should ask. I think that it would depend on your school of thought or school of philosophy, sometimes refer to as epistemology. We all have some form of epistemological ideas. What and how you learned growing up and the knowledge you now possess is what drives many of your day to day decisions. If you are a student of John Locke you might have accepted his philosophy regarding the epistemological question of the foundations of knowledge which is called “Tabla Rasa.” Tabla Rasa comes from the Latin meaning “Clean Slate” and it refers to the epistemological idea that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception. Proponents of tabula rasa generally disagree with the doctrine of “Innatism” which holds that the mind is born already in possession of certain knowledge. Or if you are from the Stoic school of philosophy then you may believe “Stoic" epistemology which emphasizes that the mind starts blank, but acquires knowledge as the outside world is impressed upon it. When a man is born” the Stoics say, “he has the commanding part of his soul like a sheet of paper ready for writing upon.” In Western philosophy Aristotle wrote
“Have not we already disposed of the difficulty about interaction involving a common element, when we said that mind is in a sense potentially whatever is thinkable, though actually it is nothing until it has thought? What it thinks must be in it just as characters may be said to be on a writing-tablet on which as yet nothing stands written: this is exactly what happens with mind”
Which reminds me of the famous-cliché “As a man thinketh so he is” and often we are what we think. In America most people choose a lifestyle based on what they think to be and not to be whom they really are at the present time. Rich or poor you may live like there is no tomorrow but the next day you are reminded that you are not immortal but a mortal stricken with a disease of wrong thinking. Your values, mores, norms, and morality, or lack of, have gotten the best of your life.
Consequently, my lifestyle can and will reflect how I am perceived by others. Have you read about the 9 rich and famous celebrities who filed for bankruptcy? Celebrities like fifty-cents, Francis Ford Coppola, and others. Sometimes our wallets can’t keep up with our lifestyles. The Poor also struggle with this. Many poor people living on the margin try to live like they own the world; they have no idea of a budget and spend their income foolishly. Some polls say in their research, that the rich claim that the poor live hard lives because the government does not help them enough. What do you think? I think and believe that my philosophy or my theology will have a great impact and determine the quality of life I live; be it health, finances, or contentment with what I possess each and every day I live. After all my lifestyle is a choice I make. Good or bad, those choices are each a reflection of how I think, or how I thinking.
The apostle Paul experiences this “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.…” For Paul “his knowledge” is based on knowing God. What is Paul’s secret? His thinking of how God cares for him. We can also say that Paul’s epistemology is really based on his theology (study of God). Paul does not start from within a closed system of philosophy (one without a creator or law giver). Many secular ideas of knowledge are based solely on human knowledge, independent of God. Paul declares that his lifestyle is totally dependent on God. Regardless of wealth or poverty. Therefore, regardless of his lifestyle rich or poor, he is putting all his trust in the knowledge he acquired from his study of God. More importantly, his relationship with God, which has been tested, and God has proven himself faithful to Paul through his many his many years of living. Most people today want to be independent God, and trust in their own ideas and do not look to God or seek His help. That is a choice, an opportunity we all have.
Career/Occupation (Professional or unskilled)
The same is true for our careers and/or occupation. People quit their jobs everyday all over the USA. According to Forbes - 2 million people quit their jobs every month. Why?
The article list things like “don’t like my boss, don’t trust my boss, don’t like the company politics, the company does not take care of their employees, etc. etc. People choose to quit because it was based on reasoning (epistemology) of their own mind. If I don’t like you I’ll quit. If I don’t like the boss I’ll quit, and If I don’t like the way the company treats me I’ll quit. If you were raised in an environment that taught you how to hate certain people, certain businesses, certain social practice, or to hate fat people, unattractive people, then your “blank slate” has a lot of stuff written on it that will drive you to choose things in your life the adhere to your way of thinking. Regardless of why, it is a choice you make based on how you think, our epistemology drives us to make decisions every day we live. Therefore, I think that in the end it is not about opportunity but commitment. For many people seeking employment today it is not about opportunity but rather it is a struggle to commit to the job and/or company because we are at an epistemological impasse. It may be due to a lack of maturity (our mental soundness) or it may be due to our perception of what others may think about us as bosses, employees, or as a company.
When I was a Program Specialist for the Workforce Solutions of Central Texas within a nonprofit named ResCare, I worked on a one year contract funded by the Obama economic stimulus package. In that program I was located at an office named East Austin Community Center named Rosewood-Zaragosa. I often came across clients that were eager and ready to work but lagged many necessary skills and/or training to become gainfully employed such as; soft skills, hard skills, etc. When the client (generally speaking) had learned more skills and was equipped with job readiness, and then placed, and accepted the job offer, several clients would often quit within a few days or weeks due to the many reasons given in the above link. These were wonderful people, sincere people, and often very intellectual people. In the end it all came down to a philosophy of life they had acquired and their mind chained to those epistemological-ideas was what drove them to leave, quit, or get fired from the job.
Perhaps you have a college degree, and perhaps you find yourself unemployed, then perhaps you have made literally hundreds of applications for the career or occupational area you think you are most qualified. Yet there in lays an uncertainty of accepting that job and committing to that company. You are not completely certain that this is what you want and/or if the company does not suit you. These decisions are real and can be very difficult to make. Who or where can you go to for advice? Dad, mom, a friend, another professional in that area?
Feeling uncertain does not make you weak or stupid. Perhaps, the way you are thinking may be somewhat unsound or your ideas poorly developed as a result of your learning. Do not worrying. If you are at an epistemological impasse. Here is some truthful knowledge directly from God’s words that will help;
- For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
- I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8
- He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things Romans 8:32
- My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 24:13-14
- Therefore do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” …But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6: 31-33
- For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
- When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Isaiah 43:2
Marrying or Singleness (Yes or No)
This last opportunity is one of my favorite. I was happily married for 29 years and now a widower for the last six almost seven years this April of 2016. I made the choice to marry at the age of 24 years right after being honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps. It was the best choice of my life. I have two wonderful grown up children, and on January 14th, 2016 I became a grandpa. In my life I did not chose to become a widower, however, I have chosen to remain single because developing a new long term relationship seems to have many challenges which includes dating in this 21st century full of epistemologically liberal life styles. Nevertheless, marriage and singleness are both good choices to make in life, if you think you are ready, but never easy to commit too. Many people stay single or get married for the wrong reasons. Some people think that if they get married that marriage will solve many of their problems. Others think that if they stay single they will avoid problems that married people have. Some think marriage is an answer to loneliness, or to financial security. Others think that if they remain single they won’t be lonely, and avoid financial hardship. Some even think of marriage or singleness as a way to escape parents or their home environment. Regardless, both require a commitment, as well bare a certain risk in those commitments. You are never absolutely certain of what the future may hold for being married or staying single. Making these type of choices require a certain risk or unknown future. You truly do not know your spouse until after being in a relationship with them for many years. If you were high school sweethearts, you may only know them partly and the rest will be revealed after marriage many years later. As a single person you also do not know what the days ahead will hold. Often single people have more conflicts in life than do married people. I think a single person will make more independent choices and decisions erroneously because they may not have a partner in life to share or get feedback of some of those ideas. If we do not have anyone to share our successes and failures in life those experience may make us feel more inadequate. Nevertheless, we make our own choices based on our epistemological paradigms. As has been said many times before “In some countries you love your neighbors, and in others you eat them.” The consequences of Ideas will impact your life tremendously, it will impact your attitude towards honesty, truth, integrity, and other vital areas of life, and consequently will bring you either a life filled with great joy or a life filled with great misery. But you choose.
“Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
(Joshua 24:14-16)
Conclusion: One More Opportunity
Lifestyle, Career, or Marriage are all opportunities we are given in this life. And all are unavoidable in our life. Regardless of whether we want these or not, we will make a choice for each of these. If you say "I don't have to choose any of these", then you have already chosen, and that is your epistemology. For many of us, who have already lived 50, 60, 70 years of life or more, we have experienced these and often reevaluate these opportunities. Consequently, we have either gain sound wisdom or perhaps become more foolish, and experienced or experiencing miserable life. If we are honest and true to ourselves, as we look back at those years of life, we should be able to recognize and admit that we made many mistakes. However, or perhaps, we have come to a realization of how those opportunities have been divinely ordained and given to us. Sometimes it takes years for us to come to the realization that (as we look back at our lives) there has been a great force at work in our behalf. Sort of like the “Footprints in the Sand” as we look back to the younger years, life was hard but yet somehow we persevere, but then we grew older and sometimes wiser, we begin to see only one set of footprints in the sand. We realized that God was working on our behalf, carrying us all along, and Christ alone was the reason we made it this far.
Today we also have a great opportunity given to us. To call on the name of our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is the opportunity of all opportunities in life. It is based on how we answer the question of God’s existence. How we answer the question of God’s existence will have a tremendous impact on how we live the days we are given. It will have an impact on our attitude toward our lifestyles, it will impact the attitude we have toward our careers and/or occupations, and it will impact on attitude toward marriage or singleness. Ultimately, it will mean a life built on solid ground; the hope we have in Christ. In contrast it may mean an unstable-life full of defeat and depression because it was built on our epistemological deficiencies. This is your opportunity! You choose! A Life full of happiness or a life full of misery.