When Strength Fails

I must admit, working at Target when I'm sick with the flu is a very humbling experience.

For one thing, I'm about twice as slow and exponentially less motivated to perform well on the job.  For another thing, I find myself, groaning, straining, heaving, and pulling much harder on heavy boxes, boxes that I normally handle with ease.

 
So what can I take away from this?  Well, I have been reminded of how a young man's strength is his glory but that, "All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass.  The grass withers, and the flower falls off." (1 Peter 1:24)

I realized that someday, this tiredness and weakening of my physical stamina and abilities will be everyday, not just when I'm sick.  So I am resolved to never smirk or chuckle when I see an older man struggling with physical exertion that I can knock out very easily right now.


A second lesson that I am learning is that, as Psalm 119:71 says, "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes."  What statutes in particular?  I found Deuteronomy 8:16-18 to be particularly convicting:

"In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’  But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."
 
I have been reminded that it is not by the strength of my own hands that my ways prosper, but because of the blessing of the Lord.

So, to all the young men who may read this, I would exhort you to remember not to boast in your strength or vigor, but to remember that the LORD is the one who trains our hands to war, our fingers for the fight, our bodies for the work set before us. 

Finally, as J.C. Ryle said, in his book "Thoughts for Young Men",

"Your time is short.  Your days are but a brief shadow, a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes, a story that is soon told.  Your bodies are not made of brass...Oh that you would all take to heart the words of the Preacher: 'Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment...Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;'"

Redeem the time, young men, for the days are evil and your bodies slowly but surely decay.  One day, your strength will fail, but those "who wait for the LORD will gain new strength."

Corn....Corn, Corn, CORN! Nothing but Corn!

Today at Target, among the many other things I did to earn my daily wages, I stacked about 400 of these cans into cardboard containers (called WACO's in Target Backroom lingo)........one can at a time :)

That was only half of the large tub filled with another 500 of these cans, in addition to the 720 cans of corn stacked on a large pallet.

"Why does Target have so many cans of canned corn?"  You ask...that is a question which is as unanswerable as the equally unanswerable question "Why did the chicken cross the road?"  :D

One thing is certain.  I definitely know where I'm shopping when I have to buy large quantities of canned goods in preparation for a natural disaster :)

 

                    

 

 P.S.  In case you didn't catch it, the title for this blog post came from the film "Secondhand Lions"  :D

A Christian's Thoughts about Black Friday

In 4 days, stores all over America will open very early as American consumers will come pouring in to spend their money on all sorts of toys, electronics, clothes, furniture, Christmas decorations, books, magazines, music, movies, and games. 

This is the first time I have ever worked for a retail store (Target) right before and (eventually) during Black Friday.  The whole thing is starting to disgust me.  For the past week, I have been unpacking, handling, stocking, shelving, and processing cheap, mass-produced plastic from China, books, movies and CD's that would embarrass almost anyone with an ounce of biblical morality, Christmas decorations which will probably be thrown in the garbage on January 1st, 2013 or get stuffed back into a box and put in a dark corner of an attic for the next 11 months, and a menagerie of other things which usually leave me thinking, "Will someone in their right mind actually buy this?!?!?" 

To top it all off, as I work at Target, I get a glimpse into the daily lives of the people who come to shop and sadly, I see more and more the effects of the breakdown of Christian culture, the loss of a biblical worldview, and the fragmenting of relationships.  I see moms getting very angry and sharp with their unruly children.  I observe teenagers with their iPods and iPhones, just checked out from reality and wishing they were anywhere but here with their parents.  Dads on cell phones rush past me, hoping that an action figure from a movie will make up for all the time they neglect to spend with their sons.  Little kids whine and cry when they don't get what they want and stressed out parents and grandparents pace up and down the store aisles, running their eyes over a wide variety of toys, games, and clothing.

With all of these thoughts and emotions running through my mind over the past couple of days, I came across a passage of Scripture which speaks with blazing conviction about the materialism and selfishness that is promoted on Black Friday, all in the name of "holiday spirit and celebration".

"Then He [Christ] said to them, 'Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.' And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
-Luke 12:15-21

I hope I don't come across as saying that shopping for Christmas, managing your money prudently by taking advantage of sales, or owning goods and possessions is wrong.  I'll be the first to decry that position. God gives us possessions on this earth for us to enjoy and, more importantly, to use to bring Him glory and advance His Kingdom.  But I hope that all of us, myself included, will obey Christ's command in Luke 12:15, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."  We know that the unbeliever seeks eagerly after worldly belongings (Matt. 6:32) to the hurt of his own soul.  So, in conclusion, I hope that my experience at Target during this Black Friday will motivate me to be praying for the victory of the Gospel over the lives of the Americans who are trapped, oftentimes unknowingly, in the bog of materialism.  And I hope that all of you, my readers, will join me in searching our own hearts about any materialism that is lurking within us, and in having a desire to witness to those around us, telling them that this life does not consist of owning the biggest HD TV, the newest gaming system, the most fashionable clothes, the snazziest house decorations, or the latest bestseller from the New York Times. 

We exist to glorify God, enjoy Him forever, and to love our neighbors.  We are to buy and use our belongings to serve God and to bless our brothers and sisters.  That is what the Christian should be doing on Black Friday and that is what I hope to learn and practice both this year and the years to come. 

For Christ's Crown, Church, and Covenant...
Joel Stanton