Considering Admiration!

Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler. Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. Proverbs 6:5-8 NIV

We often choose people we set on a pedestal--those we greatly admire and then when their imperfections and flaws are exposed, we get angry and sometimes, we rebel by interjecting venom that poisons us and all around us.

Not all of us can be right at the same time in the same place, but we can be righteous in all we do. If we only do what is right--at all times--we never have to consider what happens if we do something wrong because we won't. Sound complicated? We live complex lives and throughout our journey, we make decisions based upon the information and experiences we have at hand. If our experiences and our information is limited, our views may seem a bit short-sighted, but when we broaden our experiences and gain greater access to information, the likelihood that our views will change are incredible.

For instance, when we were in kindergarten and learned all we needed to know about life--the experience was limited and the information provided was at a level that our undeveloped minds could handle. We thought recess was the greatest part of the day and for some, it was the storytelling hour.  
Every person in the class came away with different perceptions of what kindergarten was about, but we learned: to share, wait our turns, be respectful, and to move to the right when traveling--walking down a hall or driving. And many of us learned to be considerate and most of us--had a great deal of admiration for  our teacher. Unless the teacher did something really wrong--we admired them and remembered.

As we navigated middle school and high school and college--we discovered there was so much more to learning and being in a classroom that we began to think (and not just swallow everything told to us) and eventually--our views about things we learned in kindergarten changed. It's called--maturing--and it's a part of life that most of us enjoy.

But then there are those who--though past the age of 50--still act like they are still in kindergarten. The saddest part of all is there are people who admire--the kindergarten mentality which makes one wonder--if the admirer--ever matured. And it is these people who concern me and how they evaluate admirable qualities in a person.

So, when we express admiration for a person or an ideology--perhaps we should consider the source of our admiration and evaluate our own maturity if we admire others who are immature and act as though they are still in kindergarten.

The ant--a tiny creature with a tiny brain, but obviously smarter than those of us with a larger capacity to think, evaluate, and assess and we don't. What exactly is there to admire about a non-thinking person? Absolutely nothing--unless we happen to be an ant. Let's choose to admire Jesus and become more like Him!