a drop of water

Asa shared last night at small group, what a friend had told him recently:

“Be careful what you do everyday, because you will get good at it.”

Its a sobering and freeing thought…that the attitudes, lifestyles, and decisions that make up our daily lives inherently reinforce themselves to where they become easier, more routine, and more natural.  It’s sobering because if I choose to come home from work and watch a few hours of TV to relax and be entertained, I’ll get good at…watching TV.  If I spend all my free time on websites like fatwallet looking for opportunities for arbitrage, I’ll get good at making money the goal of my life.  If I am I quick to speak and quick to anger, then I’ll get good at judging people around me.  Getting good at something is almost always at the expense of not getting good at something else.  So I have to ask myself, what does getting good at A cost me in terms of getting good at B?

If I’m good at watching TV, I probably won’t very practiced at having lucid and thoughtful conversations about my day with friends and family.  If I’m good at making money the main goal of my time, then I won’t be very good at seeing the value in relationships and the priceless intangibles of life.  If I’m good at judging people around me, then I’ll be horrible at being open to God’s love and direction for myself and those around me.  If I’m good at waking up and immediately checking and responding to email, I’ll be very weak at depending on God for a right start in the day.  If I’m good at complaining about work, then I probably will be blind to the joys that God has for me in the present.

But the truth in this statement is also freeing.  If we practice daily the attitudes and lifestyles that we want to become second nature, then it will happen.  We will get good at the things we do daily.  If I practice going to work joyfully and giving 100%, then it will get easier to do day by day.  If I practice being patient, loving, and always having a sensitive ear to those around me, I’ll get good at it.  If I practice waking up in the morning and spending time with God by reading in the Bible and praying, it I will gradually come to expect and depend on it.  I guess this is the heart of the spiritual disciplines, and ultimately the Christian faith, daily engaging, learning from, and loving God.