Learning to Stay Positive in Basic Training

Mike Hosey, An Elder

I learned a great deal when I went to the U.S. Army’s Basic Training in the late 1980s.  My drill sergeants taught me a lot of useful things that I would need to know if I ever had to attend to combat. I learned about land navigation, how to throw grenades, how to maintain a rifle, and how to use it to kill the enemy. I learned about physical fitness, first aid in a combat zone, how to talk on a radio, and how to cover and conceal my position. Thankfully, I’ve never had to use some of those skills, nor do I ever want to.  Interestingly, the most important and most valuable thing I learned in basic training had very little to do with any specific combat technique, but has been instrumental in every domain of my life since then. I learned that if I stay mentally positive, I can get through a whole lot of difficulty, and that I can go further, and withstand far more than I initially think I can in any given hard situation. Since basic training that concept of staying positive has been reinforced by realizing the effects of negativity.  I’ve allowed myself to be negative a few times, and I’ve learned that being so will negate any abilities that I might have, and will shorten or diminish my potential to get through difficult circumstances.

My first understanding of this came in the very first week of basic training.  The course is 8 weeks long.  By the end of week one, a soldier begins to think a great deal about his family and wanting to go home. I had to force myself to stay positive.  More specifically, I had to force myself to realize that the trouble I was enduring was temporary.  And not only that, I reminded myself of the reality that making it through the temporary difficulties of basic training would open up a world of opportunity to me.  In short, the long lasting prize at the end of basic training would be greater than the temporary relief of quitting. Being controlled by a worthy goal was far more valuable than being controlled by any present temptation. This is not much different from the teachings of Paul.  Consider his letter to the churches in Rome where he advises them that their present difficulties cannot compare to the glory that will be revealed later (Romans 8:18), or when he writes to the church at Corinth that our “light and momentary” difficulties are preparing us for an eternal glory that is “beyond comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

If we focus on the difficulties wrought by our flesh and sinful natures, we will be in a world of turmoil.  But if we attain a positive mindset by focusing on the Spirit of God, we will have life and peace (Romans 8:6, Romans 12:1-2).

Is Christmas Peace for Everyone?

Mike Hosey, An Elder

Sometimes we misunderstand the bible because we read it piecemeal rather than as a unified whole.  For example, did the angels declare that there would be peace for all men when they announced to the shepherds that Jesus the savior was born (Luke 2:14)? Many people would say yes, but this is a significantly flawed understanding. Although it may be difficult to hear, it must be said that the answer is a resounding no.  The King James Version records this declaration to the shepherds as, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:14 KJV).”  However, most modern translations, which use older text sources, will render that verse as a variation of, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests (Luke 2:14 NIV).”  Well obviously, God’s favor does not rest on all men . . . which is why the verse says “peace to those . . .”   

Of course this makes perfect sense if you interpret Luke 2:14 in light of other passages such as Matthew 10:34, or Luke 12:51-53. In those passages, Jesus clearly says that he didn’t come to bring peace to all of the human condition!

There’s a simple reason for this.  God cannot bring peace to a world that is full of sin, darkness, genetic dysfunction in which evil is passed from one generation to the next, or to a world that is essentially at war with him. The only hope for such a world is to remake it completely.  And this was God’s purpose.  Not to give us universal peace in a broken world, but to give people peace with him (Romans 5:1) so that we could be remade and restored to true purpose and relationship. When that happens, you will have peace.  This peace will exist even in the midst of the difficulty and chaos of our broken world (Philippians 4:7). 

This is the great joy of Christmas.  When a person realizes brokenness, and understands that God has set out to fix that brokenness, then peace will come in ways that are over flowing and so unstoppable that even the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.  God’s favor will then rest on those who are blessed with the acceptance of that truth.

Don't Miss the Opportunity to Enjoy Christmas!

Mike Hosey, An Elder

The most finite resource in the universe is time.  You have only 24 hours in a day, and you have only so many hours to live on earth. In an attempt to explain the value of time, it is often said that time is money.  But this is a very poor comparison. Time is far more valuable than money. You can always make more money.  If you lose your entire material fortune today, it is theoretically possible for you to regain that entire material fortune next week, or even tomorrow. But after a second, a minute, an hour or a day has passed, it is gone.  You cannot get another. Unlike money, where every dollar is essentially the same, every day is unique.  Each day has something different in it, and every day has potential for different experiences.

The Greeks had a more intuitive understanding of this than we do.  They used two different words to describe what English labels with only one word – “time.”  In Greek, the word for time is both Chronos, and Kairos.  Chronos is the word used to describe time in the sense that we use it most today. Usually, we speak of time as a quantity, and we divide it into calendars, and schedules, and agenda’s.  For instance, we may ask, “How much time (chronos) before I get off work?”  Kairos, on the other hand, was a word that filled time with opportunity, and had nothing to do with quantity. For instance, we might ask, “Did you have a good time (kairos) at your small group?” Kairos is seizing the day and taking advantage of the moment. 

Jesus uses this word in a number of places.  In speaking of the end times in Mark 13:33, he tells us to be on guard because we don’t know when the time (kairos) of his return will come.  In other words, he tells us to be vigilant and ready to seize the day and take the opportunity. Although the word “kairos” is not used in the story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42), Jesus is clearly pointing out the concept.  Jesus enters the house of Martha.  Martha frantically goes about her duties of serving Jesus, and whoever else has entered the house with him. But her sister,Mary, sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to his teaching. This seems to irritate Martha, who asks Jesus to command Mary to get up and help.  Jesus simply responds that Mary has chosen the better portion. He doesn’t tell Martha that her choice of service is wrong, he simply tells her that Mary’s choice is better.  Mary chose “kairos.” She chose to seize the opportunity to enjoy Jesus.

As you go about your Christmas routines, ask yourself if you are intentionally choosing “kairos,” and enjoying the season. It will be full of opportunity, and there will never be another one exactly like it. Or are you slavishly trying to manage chronos without enjoying the opportunities that are relentlessly marching past you. 

INVEST with Illumination!

Mike Hosey, An Elder

One of the most fulfilling things a person can do in life is to invest in others. Everyone does it differently.  Some people invest in others with daily face time. Others do it with prayer. Still, others do it by being a helping hand when one is needed.  But there are a few other ways that we can all invest in people, regardless of our individual talents or leanings. 

One particular way is to invest with illumination. Consider the example of Jesus. In John 1:1-5 Jesus is called “the Word.”  That passage says that Jesus, The Word, was a light in the darkness, and the darkness could not overcome him.  This is not really an amazing fact. Darkness has never been able to overcome light, and never will.  The darkest dark must flee from even the dimmest light, and the brilliance of Jesus has not dimmed one lumen since he first stepped into our world.

Interestingly, Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:8 that we Christians once walked in darkness, but that we are now light.  He adds that we ought to walk as children of light.  That is, that we ought to walk like children of The Light -- Jesus. Let that sink in for a second . . . as Christians, we are taking on the role of Jesus in this world!

Paul was only echoing Jesus himself when he penned those words to his Ephesian brothers and sisters.  Jesus told us in Matthew 5:13-16 that we are the light of the world, that we can’t be hidden, and that we should let that light shine so that people in a dark world can see our good works, and as a result of seeing those good works, they will give glory to God! We may be considerably dimmer than Jesus, but even Jesus recognized that our dim lights would dispel the darkness of our fallen world, and thereby give glory to God. 

As we get the word of God into us, we will begin to live that word, and become a kind of embodiment of that word, just as Jesus was (and is) the truest embodiment of God’s word. In fact, you will become an inferior form of the word in this world, and be a light in this world.  Here is a final profound thought for you to consider regarding that reality:  In becoming those things, you may very well be the only scripture that some people will ever read.  You may very well be the only light that some people may ever see.  And you may be the last “Jesus” standing between a dying person, and a hell on earth or a hell in eternity.