Start with the "in"

“That quote sounds almost Biblical,” I told my husband as we stopped by a granite bench in the University of Idaho arboretum in Moscow, Idaho. It’s a beautiful place with trees and bushes from two continents and several ponds, laced by strolling or running trails.  Throughout are stone “resting benches” bearing aphorisms or memorial dedications. This one read:

He best builds lives of other men

Who starts from within.

--D. Howard Doane

Researching the name, I learned Dr. Doane died at age 100 in 1989, and was known for his work in agriculture.  Of course, both the University of Idaho and next-town-over Washington State University train agri-scientists. Doane had three honorary doctorates and distinguished himself as an agricultural expert in government (under President Hoover) and the educational and private sector. He headed a huge agricultural research and management company for years. No wonder this quote, with its implication for managers, became part of his written legacy.

Doane’s quote reminded me of the scriptural truth that a man’s behavior is a mirror of his heart.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life;

Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.

Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.

Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:23-27 NIV)

Or, as Jesus reiterated in His appraisal of the Pharisee’s attempt to cover up dark hearts with spiritual rule-keeping like ceremonial washings:

“The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.  These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’” (Matthew 15:18-20)

I’m not familiar with any of Doane’s teachings or writings. But that one little quote speaks loudly of how grooming a leader must begin with the inner life. And so must “growing” a Christian witness!

As a side note, in 1905 he and ten other young men in a Bible study at the YMCA in Columbia, MO., decided to rent a house and live together while attending the University of Missouri. Not wanting to associate with the values of Greek fraternities, and wanting to support one another in their agricultural studies, they pooled their money and rented a house they called “Farmhouse Fraternity.” In those early years, they barely kept going with their meager finances. But the idea spread across the nation, with WSU’s version starting in 1955 and UI’s in 1957. Commitment to leadership excellence and an alcohol-free environment are among its historical distinctives. 

Fences: two sides of one story

The proverb, “Good fences make good neighbors” exists in various languages and cultures, but now is most associated with Robert Frost’s 1914 poem “Mending Wall.” The poem tells of two neighbors who, every spring, together mend the fence dividing their properties. Similarly, Ben Franklin said, “Love your neighbor, yet don’t pull down your hedge.”
Both sayings, I think, suggest that some sort of separation is helpful in tenuous relationships. They also imply how we live in a fallen world with negative, hurting people.  As Proverbs observes and warns: 
“Do not accuse a man for no reason—when he has done you no harm.” (Proverbs 3:30)
“A perverse person stirs up conflict.” (Proverbs 16:28)
“Every fool is quick to quarrel.” (Proverbs 20:3)
“Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered.” (Proverbs 22:24)
In today’s mental health language, dealing with such people may require setting “boundaries” that control contact. Although I try to be an approachable person, wise friends helped me realize my need of boundaries when targeted by ongoing hostile words and actions. I found insight about this in Safe People, a book by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend (Zondervan, 1995).  They pointed out how people who have unresolved grief and hurt tend to withdraw and lash out at the very people (their “safe” people) who could help them move toward emotional wellness. Sadly, when these “safe” people react with “fences” or boundaries, the “unsafe” are deeply offended, even though their own behavior purchased the boards, hammer, and nails.  

In seeking Biblical perspective on this complicated issue, I felt drawn to John 10, the “I am the Good Shepherd” chapter:

I am the gate for the sheep....The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full....I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:7, 10, 14)
The phrase “He laid down his life” for the sheep brings to mind, of course, His death on the cross for my sins. The analogy to a sheepfold is so tender. In ancient rugged lands, rocks were cheap and accessible building materials for livestock pens. Some shepherds topped the walls with thorny brambles, an early version of today’s barbed wire. At night, a shepherd would herd his animals in the sheepfold. If it lacked a door or gate, he would become the “gate” himself by sitting or lying across the entrance. Any harm had to encounter him first.

This helped me see that sometimes, when faced with hurtful people, I need to prayerfully set up “fences” with Jesus guarding my heart’s gate. This doesn’t mean I am rejecting that person, but that I am seeking protection from the Savior who cares about both sides of the fence. His love is truly boundless love.

Rust out or wear out?

Where it came from, nobody really knows, but most people have heard the proverb, “It’s better to wear out than rust out.”  The meaning, of course, is that active old age is far better than waning old age. When I recently turned  the big seven-oh (remember when “16” or “21” were exciting?), this derelict boat near Ephrata, Washington, took on fresh meaning for me.  Actually, it’s a concoction of old truck, boat, and fan, assembled near a former junkyard/ironworks  (I’m still not sure) by somebody who had a quirky sense of humor and some major cranes.  Its seaworthy days are long gone.
 

These milestone birthdays do make you think about where you are going in your remaining years.  Of course, none of us know how long we’ll live.  The year I turned fifty, my family and I were hit by a drunk driver. That could have been the end, but God spared us, and I’m now full-steam into the joys and challenges of grand-parenting.

But I still have time to build, or add to, my “legacy.”  When your older friends’ names start showing up in the obituaries, you start reading those.  In my town, for an extra fee, newspapers allow survivors to print full biographies about their loved one.  (The “free” death notices just state  a name, age, hometown, and date of death.) Some of those get quite interesting.  I remember one that suggested their loved one was now enjoying casino games in Heaven.  Oh, sure.  But I take note of those that summarize character qualities:  “She was generous and hospitable, and taught Sunday school for forty years.”  Or “He was a caring, honest man whose faith in Jesus was most important to him.”

GIVE ME THIS HILL COUNTRY

Though it’s not recorded in scripture, I wonder what an obituary might have said about an indomitable senior named Caleb.  Of the original huge throng that escaped Egypt, only he and Joshua survived the forty years of wandering and were allowed into the Promised Land.  Caleb is best known for declaring, as the land was divided:
So here I am today, eighty-five years old!  I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day.  (Joshua 14:10b-11)
Caleb wasn’t looking for beach-front place to build a resort.  The land he had his eye on included huge walled cities (Numbers 13:30-33) known for a tribe of tall, strong people (giants).  This old warrior was going for it—full steam ahead. 

I’m not about to strap on a sword and pick up a shield, but birthdays have become milestones to think of where I have been and where I am going, for the Lord.  I don’t want to rust out and give up.  Trust me, I have more aches and pains than I like. But in whatever is ahead, I want God to use me the best way possible. I want to be one of those men and women described in Psalm 92:14:
They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.”
You don’t say that from the helm of a rusty, abandoned ship!

Sweet treats

Spring’s first strawberries to hit stores are hard to resist—big, plump, appealing to winter-starved tasted buds. But usually something is missing: true flavor. Those early Goliaths, probably forced in greenhouses, simply taste flat. So this year, when my husband brought home some clearance strawberry plants, I was eager to plant them for real taste.  My usual planting spot now ant-ridden, I decided to put these in pots in another part of the yard.  When the first ones reddened, ah…there is nothing like a tiny, vine-ripened strawberry.

The deliciousness of true fruit is aptly used in the Bible’s analogy of the “fruit of the spirit.”  Probably best known is Paul’s Galatians 5:22-23 list of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

But I wonder if it’s easy to get stuck in familiar lists. Wherever the Bible talks about good character, those all are “fruits” of a life connected to God. Proverbs, for example, is plum (pun intended) full of observations of good (and bad) character. But one list I’ve been drawn to lately is in Peter’s second letter, where he talks about progressive holy character.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.(2 Peter 1:5-8)

Consider how Eugene Peterson paraphrased the same passage in The Message:

So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, completing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.

Time—and the nourishment of soil, water, and sun—produce the sweetest strawberries, So, too, our faith. We need time on the divine “Vine”—staying connected to Jesus—to offer a sweet “taste” of Him to the world.

Some people read Psalm 34:8 (“O taste and see that the LORD is good” ) and think of workers in food warehouse stores, white mesh nets over their hair, standing at promotion carts with little taste-cups of featured food. One way non-Christians get “tastes” of God is through the lives of believers who are manifesting godly traits like “reverent wonder” and “generous love.” All the more reason to “ripen” with godly character, such as those character qualities in lists like the apostle Peter’s.

In the meantime, anybody for a bowl of cereal with a just-picked ruby prize?  There might be enough for two in my backyard pots.