I recently took a test to see if I qualify to be a slacker. Here were my results:
My score: B
What does your score mean? You are a bum. You're mistaking being a slacker for a Bum. Slacking's not about being too lazy to work hard, it's about being so aware how pointless everything is, you don't see the point of working hard.
I'm lazy and unaware. Insult to injury.
So I've been practicing my own version of slacking.
Here's where I've started:
I know. It's not the kind of slacker you thought I was trying to become. I'm too lazy to be that kind of slacker, remember? And I guess I don't believe in the idea of everything being pointless.
This is slacklining. It's similar to tightrope walking except that the line has slack so you can do sweet tricks. I can't do any sweet tricks. But I can walk, jump, do some rough turns and a couple of unimpressive yoga poses.
There is something I've enjoyed about understanding and controlling my balance. For some reason, I want to make my body conform to what I want it to do. But all my body wants to do is to be on a level surface without constant sway. We just keep fighting with each other.
We start to learn the art of balance the day we decide we want to get up off our butts and walk. Now if everything was really pointless, we all would still be on our baby stinking butts.
Balance is learned.
If I wanted to just get by and not learn balance, I could continue walking down my old run of the mill path.
I used to be told how I often scowl at work. I started to wonder how others perceived who I was in my heart if I always looked mad. Yet, I was diligent and working hard. I was faithful to the tasks at hand. Unfortunately there was no balance to my spiritual person. I looked like a lady who had zero joy in her heart and hated life. Should I really represent the God who lives in me this way?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Gal 5:22
My friend brought to my attention that this fruit of the Spirit is singular. But there are so many character spiritual traits listed. And I'm pretty sure I'm only wired to be good at a couple of them.
I've been thinking lately how my response to every day circumstances is like a swinging pendulum. One day it swings hard one direction and then the next day, I'm on the other side. One day, I'm confident and excited about what I see God doing. Then next day, I'm crippled by fear that He won't be with me. One day I'm so kind to all I meet and the next I'm hating them in my heart. And again I'm found off balance by showing kindness to coworkers but refusing to keep goodness by not offering correction because I think kindness is more important than goodness.
The pendulum swings again and I'm off balance.
I could keep this up to get by. It would be easier.
Can one truly have this fruit of the Spirit and only be good at demonstrating peace and ignore gentleness?
What about living with joy and ignore that nasty word called self-control?
But it's in my nature to be kind. Why rock the boat and work on that thing called patience?
I'd like to learn how to be a decent slacker by practicing balance through struggle, determination, focus, and core strength to compensate for the times I lean too much to the left or right.
I think that if I try I too can practice this fruit of the Spirit by practicing balance through struggle, determination, focus and core strength which is Christ.
This means that I need to develop all of this fruit as a complete unit. I know which ones I gravitate to either because I like them or because it's more in my nature to demonstrate. But that doesn't mean I'll be balanced just because that's how I want it.
If I want to stay on the line, I've got to train my heart to know it's balance. He's already told me how.
To love, to have joy, to know peace, to demonstrate patience, to give kindness, to be goodness, to have faithfulness, to develop gentleness, to practice self-control.
I'm not interested in just getting by.
