"If" - by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
I've been reading a lot of poetry lately for school. Let's just say, some of those Victorian literature poems are very difficult to understand what in the world they mean! Especially if you are reading the "Jabberwocky." Of course, it was meant to be logical nonsense, but I don't find much of anything inspiring about it.
But this particular poem caught my attention. And just because it was written for this man's son doesn't mean we can't get anything out of it. I think the advice given here goes for men and women alike.
This poem really gives a good picture of what it takes to make your life count for eternity. We get caught up so easily in living only for this life and forget that it's just for a moment. We need to be making a difference for Christ, not letting this world and all it's junk drag us and weigh us down. That's why it says in Hebrews 12:1-2 to, "lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
We have a race to run, and it's no picnic. There's no way we can do it alone. Just look at some of the stuff in the poem. And that's only a good start. Only through Jesus can we ever hope to be so selflessly dedicated to living for God and others rather than ourselves. And it's not easy being a real man (or woman) in a world full of people who seemingly never grew up. Rather than follow the bad examples set by the world, I want to be courageous and set a good example, a Christ-like example, even if it goes against culture. Easier said than done.
I used to do some running. I wasn't that great, but what really helped me was that my older brother would run with me. We trained together. And I actually won a 2nd place trophy for my age division (14 & under male) in 2007. Surprise! But I couldn't have gotten better at running on my own. I mean, by myself, I probably would have given up after the first run. I think we went either a half mile or a mile and I almost died. And I walked most of the way too. Pathetic. But my brother was a hard taskmaster. :) And I got to the point where I could do 5k nonstop at a pretty decent (well, for me anyway) pace.
The point is, we can get discouraged pretty easily. I know I do. But we're not in this alone! We have brothers and sisters in Christ to lean on when we feel like giving up. And if that's not enough, Jesus Himself is running along right beside us, going our pace! I think that's pretty awesome!
If Jesus came back today, would we be living for Him, or for ourselves? Would I? Life is too short to live for our own trivial pursuits; let's live our lives like eternity matters. Because it does.
JPK
p.s. now for a soccer game. sigh. i'm out of shape.
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
I've been reading a lot of poetry lately for school. Let's just say, some of those Victorian literature poems are very difficult to understand what in the world they mean! Especially if you are reading the "Jabberwocky." Of course, it was meant to be logical nonsense, but I don't find much of anything inspiring about it.
But this particular poem caught my attention. And just because it was written for this man's son doesn't mean we can't get anything out of it. I think the advice given here goes for men and women alike.
This poem really gives a good picture of what it takes to make your life count for eternity. We get caught up so easily in living only for this life and forget that it's just for a moment. We need to be making a difference for Christ, not letting this world and all it's junk drag us and weigh us down. That's why it says in Hebrews 12:1-2 to, "lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
We have a race to run, and it's no picnic. There's no way we can do it alone. Just look at some of the stuff in the poem. And that's only a good start. Only through Jesus can we ever hope to be so selflessly dedicated to living for God and others rather than ourselves. And it's not easy being a real man (or woman) in a world full of people who seemingly never grew up. Rather than follow the bad examples set by the world, I want to be courageous and set a good example, a Christ-like example, even if it goes against culture. Easier said than done.
I used to do some running. I wasn't that great, but what really helped me was that my older brother would run with me. We trained together. And I actually won a 2nd place trophy for my age division (14 & under male) in 2007. Surprise! But I couldn't have gotten better at running on my own. I mean, by myself, I probably would have given up after the first run. I think we went either a half mile or a mile and I almost died. And I walked most of the way too. Pathetic. But my brother was a hard taskmaster. :) And I got to the point where I could do 5k nonstop at a pretty decent (well, for me anyway) pace.
The point is, we can get discouraged pretty easily. I know I do. But we're not in this alone! We have brothers and sisters in Christ to lean on when we feel like giving up. And if that's not enough, Jesus Himself is running along right beside us, going our pace! I think that's pretty awesome!
If Jesus came back today, would we be living for Him, or for ourselves? Would I? Life is too short to live for our own trivial pursuits; let's live our lives like eternity matters. Because it does.
JPK
p.s. now for a soccer game. sigh. i'm out of shape.
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