“My advise is that to start with your inner self first then on the knowledge, it has always the attutide of oneself that will determine how far you go, not on your knowledge or family background.” Respectfully I beg to differ from your notion that it is our percieve state of mind that decides the mileage of our life walk. I am a professional health care worker. Many times in my interaction with clients, the recurrent theme of ‘rootedness’ reveals itself over and over again. I believe our life walk should not be seperated from our origins but be jealously guarded as life’s reference point. My advise is that to start with your inner self first then on the knowledge, it has always the attutide of oneself that will determine how far you go, not on your knowledge or family background.
As a Christian, I want to share a story from the Old Testament with you. The story is of a man named Jonadab, the son of Rechab, and his family. This story in Jeremiah 35 narrates that Jonadab became a very wealthy and powerful man and, along with the future king Jehu, brought God’s judgment on Ahab’s wicked family. Jonadab’s family for centuries had been mistreated, and they were never given their proper inheritance in the land of Israel. Seeing all the problems in both Israel and Judah, Jonadab gave a command to his children and family. He told them that forever they were to 1) not drink wine 2) to not become farmers 3) to never plant a vineyard and 4) to always dwell in tents. Jonadab’s family was to always live a difficult and very simple life.
Over 200 years after Jonadab died, his descendents were called by the prophet Jeremiah to come to the temple. The entire family was then brought into one of the rooms of the temple and wine was placed before them. Jeremiah commanded, “Drink the wine!” Now this of course was a test, but it was one that they easily passed. They said to Jeremiah, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us saying, “You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever. You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have any of these; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.” For over 200 years this family had lived according to the very difficult rules given by their father. For over 200 years this family had lived in faithfulness to both God and their earthly father. Their faithfulness was used by the Lord to point out the sin and rebellion of God’s people who had failed in doing much easier things that God had asked them to do.
What is our reference point in life? our attutude about inner self will never cut it.
