Guidelines For Living

Do you ever feel like you stand alone, misunderstood and out of step with your colleagues? When people say, "Come on, everybody does it; why can't you, as well?" You aren't sure what to answer. The fact that you won't pad your expense account, or be unfaithful to your mate, convicts those who know it's wrong but haven't the moral courage to do what is right.

If ever a man was called by God to fail, that man was the prophet Jeremiah. He was the son of a priest, Hilkiah, and he lived in the little village of Anathoth, two and a half miles northeast of Jerusalem. Jeremiah lived a pretty normal life—normal, that is, until he heard the voice of God calling him to a mission which forever wrote his name in the annals of history.

Immediately before He returned to the Father's presence, Jesus made a promise to His followers: He boldly said, "And remember, I am with you always, day by day, until the close of the age" (Matthew 28:20, Weymouth). The book of Hebrews echoes those words, quoting Jesus as saying, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you!" You can dismiss this, suggesting that it was a promise intended only for those who were alive in the first century. Some do, thereby washing their hands of the whole matter. But if you are honest, you have to say, "That promise was made to all of God's children." If you do that, however, you may have another troublesome question to wrestle with: "If He is there, why don't I feel anything?"

"Dear Dr. Sala," writes a friend of Guidelines, "when my husband and I get into an argument, he walks away and comes back as though nothing had ever happened. When he has hurt me and never asks for forgiveness, I feel offended and want to withdraw. Do you have any suggestions which might help?"

When you are only five feet three, and someone who is six feet five towers over you, you quickly learn what intimidation is, especially when the giant leans over you and threatens you. We'd much prefer enemies about our size giving us an equal chance; but, of course, life isn't always fair.

Towards the end of his life David Livingstone, the great missionary, was brought back to his native Scotland to be honored by his countrymen and the University of Glasgow in particular. There was absolute silence as Livingstone told of his experiences in Africa, his left arm hanging limp at his side, the result of being mauled by a lion. He spoke of being felled by fever 30 times. He told of the various hardships he had gladly endured for the cause of Christ.

How a person responds to calamity or disaster tells an awful lot about what's inside! When things are not going well, there is a tendency for the old to become cynical and critical, and castigate those who are younger. You know the mentality--"The older I am, the better I was!" Having had years of experience, it is very easy for them to see immediately what's wrong with the world, especially people in the world, and be very clear in letting folks know that things aren't like they used to be, and that if they were still in control, it wouldn't be that way.

If ever there was a living saint, it was Corrie ten Boom. Should you ever have the opportunity of visiting Amsterdam, take the train from Central Station for a 20 minute ride to Haarlem, a delightful Dutch town. Walk past the city square and just off this, past the old church where Corrie's nephew was the organist, there you will find a watch shop made famous by the movie, "The Hiding Place."

You wake up in the night thinking about a situation which really distresses you. You silently pray, "God, please do something about this," yet sleep doesn't come. You toss and turn, asking, "What should I do?" At the same time, you know that worrying doesn't change anything and that you shouldn't worry.

When an actor or actress plays the part of another person, he or she tries to get inside the skin of the person, to so saturate himself or herself with the thought processes of that person that he or she begins to think as the other person as well as to act and look like the other person, and—to the extent possible—to be that person. Can that really be done? Yes, say those who earn their living acting professionally.