First things first, I want to give a shoutout to my friend Taylor Schmidt’s soon to be fiancé Nathan De Young. I do this simply because of those people I have actually met, I’m drawing a blank as to who should receive a shoutout. So how are you Nathan? When I first heard your name, I thought your girlfriend was talking about some singer she liked, I mean a name like De Young has a lot of star-value to it don’t you think? (But I’m gonna take a guess and say you’re tone-deaf.)
I was wondering what I might tell a younger Matt, a pre-Race Matt. What would that one thing be? Then I realized if I were some Marty McFly-type time traveler, it would be a waste to limit myself to just one piece of advice. So instead I came up with 21.
1. God has already given you the tools to conquer the enemy. You don’t have to travel the world on some monastic pilgrimage to acquire the tools to defeat your struggles with pornography, anger, or arrogance.
2. Gauge the fruitfulness of your life not by how seldom you sin, but by how often you succeed in running back toward Christ every time you do.
3. Your sense of humor is a gift, not some obstacle to be overcome.
4. Die to self DAILY.
5. Christ died for the worst version of you. You don’t have to earn intimacy with him, you don’t have to earn peace or joy.
6. It’s okay to change your mind.
7. When you choose to run from Christ, in the midst of your shame, He is with you.
8. Don’t let anyone convince you to grow out a beard if you don’t want to. Especially in Africa . . . In July.
9. The title of the book is For Whom the Bell Tolls, not For Whom the Bells Toll. (What’s up cousin Ennis?)
10. God’s plan for you, for your future wife, career, children, is infinitely greater than anything you could possibly plan for yourself.
11. Before you even ask if anyone has seen a movie or TV series you enjoy . . . They haven’t. You watch way too much TV.
12. Always carry a knife . . . And floss more.
13. Eat steak when you can, because there will be times you have nothing but peanut butter on crackers and Ramen. I know that doesn’t sound like a bad thing now, but it gets old.
14. If you’re going to kill an animal, don’t wear your nicest shirt. Probably best if no vegans are watching also.
15. Screw sunglasses! You never wore them before, no need to start now. Every pair you buy, no matter how cool you think they look- they look feminine. You will never look good in sunglasses.
16. God is good- all the time. I know you said that a lot on Sunday mornings, but it’s not just another overused Christianese platitude. It is the truth.
17. Sometimes on the Race you will find yourselves surrounded by beautiful women. Of course you can’t do anything about that because you signed a contract (not legally-binding, but a contract nonetheless) saying you wouldn’t pursue any relationship while abroad. But wear deodorant anyways.
18. You left your passport at the English-speaking minor emergency clinic in Siem Reap, Cambodia. DO NOT SEARCH THROUGH THE TRASH CAN.
19. Souvenirs are over-rated, expensive, and weigh you down.
20. Learn to forgive yourself. God forgave you, you should too.
21. Your identity in Christ, who He says you are, will not change.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
PS- When your ex-girlfriend dumps you in October 2016 . . . DO NOT LET YOUR FRIEND CODY BRAND YOUR SHOULDER WITH A HOT COAT HANGER!! HOW STUPID ARE YOU?! IT WILL NOT MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER!
Peace and Love everybody,
-Matt
