Skip to main content

Act Your Age!

Our old gas powered mower finally bit the dust. But it did last for 18 years so I think we got our money’s worth.

As I was considering a replacement for it, my wife and my son encouraged me to buy a self propelled mover. They said it would make the mowing go so much easier, especially for someone my age!

While the cost was quite a bit higher for a self propelled mower, I did go ahead and get one. After opening the box, I did the right thing and started reading the Operator’s Manual. I figured that I may as well put it together right since it did cost me a pretty penny.

The Operator’s Manual, quite early in the opening section, mentioned some statistics for mowing accident. It turns out that men aged 65 and older top the charts for the highest number of mowing accidents.

Following that ugly truth was a laundry list of warnings for those men over 65. The warnings included descriptions on how to prevent accidents. As my eyes started glazing over and I was about to dismiss it all, reality struck like a ton of bricks, that’s me, I’m over 65! I can’t just ignore it all and assume it’s just for the other guys out there! I decided right then and there to pay attention to what was written.

Sometimes we do need to look into a mirror and see who we are. I am over 65. That’s reality yet it can be hard to accept when I don’t always want to acknowledge my age.

In the book of James, there’s a warning involving a mirror. It’s not that we shouldn’t look in a mirror and see all those wrinkles, but the warning has to do with looking and then forgetting what we saw.

The passage refers to those who hear the word of God but don’t obey it. They are like the man who looks in the mirror and then goes away and forgets what he saw. His attention span to do what needs to be done is definitely short but certainly not sweet!

But James goes on with this: “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer that acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:23)

There are blessings when we see what we need to do and actually do it. If I read the cautions for my new self propelled lawn mower for those over 65 and I follow them, the blessing is that I will likely reduce the possibilities of an accident.

But if I read the cautions and then just ignore them or forget about them, the probability goes way up that I will be part of the involved in an accident statistics. And that’s not something I want, especially at my age!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can't Get No Satisfaction

One of the songs that were popular in my youth was not particularly upbeat or helpful but it probably did express some of the angst of my generation.  It was not one that particularly resonated with me but as I recently read the book of Haggai, it did come to mind, well, at least some of the lyrics did.  It was the Rolling Stones song with the lyrics “I can’t get no satisfaction”.  Take a look at the chorus of that bleak song:   I can't get no satisfaction; I can't get no satisfaction; Gonna try and I try and I try and I try; I can't get no - I can't get no –   Now take a look at Haggai 1:6 – “ You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” It sure sounds like the people of Judah couldn’t get any satisfaction with the things of life that normally should have brought some type of s...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Horse Of Course

In Biblical times, horses represented military power and strength.  And if you had both horses and chariots, well, that was the ultimate of military powers and wars were often won with them. Yet in seeking to have what would normally be considered insurmountable military strength, there was one factor that was often overlooked.  The Psalmist made it clear what that factor was when he wrote:  “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”   (Ps 20:7) While Israel did at times trust in the name of the Lord, there were other times when they tried to trust in horses and chariots to win their battles.  This is what the Lord spoke to Israel through the prophet Isaiah:  “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,   who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots   and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord .”  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hide Not...

Over the centuries, the words have brought great comfort and encouragement.   The words are often used as a benediction or a blessing:   The Lord bless you and keep you: The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.   (Num 6:24-26)   What in the world is a countenance?  By definition, it is a person's face or facial expression. So if the Lord’s face shines upon us and if He lifts up His countenance upon us, what does all that mean? It means that He is giving us His attention.  But even more so, His face shining upon us gives us t he picture of a beaming face like that of a parent for their beloved child.  And the reference to Him lifting up His countenance points to God extending divine favor and peace to us. Sometimes we can appreciate things more by seeing opposites.  The opposite of a lifted face is a face that has fallen, perhaps because of sham...
Post a Comment
Read more