Finding Your Way in Life, One Step at a Time Matthew 2:1-12
- Johnny Cash song (1976), “One Piece at a Time”
Well, I left Kentucky back in forty nine
An’ went to Detroit workin’ on a ‘sembly line
The first year they had me puttin’ wheels on Cadillacs
Every day I’d watch them beauties roll by
And sometimes I’d hang my head and cry
‘Cause I always wanted me one that was long and black.
One day I devised myself a plan
That should be the envy of most any man
I’d sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand
Now gettin’ caught meant gettin’ fired
But I figured I’d have it all by the time I retired
I’d have me a car worth at least a hundred grand.
I’d get it one piece at a time
And it wouldn’t cost me a dime
You’ll know it’s me when I come through your town
I’m gonna ride around in style
I’m gonna drive everybody wild
‘Cause I’ll have the only one there is around.
- Acquiring wisdom, understanding how things work, becoming acquainted with the way of the world does not come for free. It costs more than a dime. Growing in wisdom comes at great cost.
- Dave Ramsey calls it “stupid tax.” I’ve paid my share, one mistake in the ballpark of $50,000, but we won’t bore you with the details. I’m sure you’ve paid a little stupid tax, too.
- But that is the way you get stronger and better at life. You make some mistakes (though you try, through good counsel and observation and commonsense to avoid the most costly ones), and you take your licks, you learn from the mistakes, and you reengage, only this time with more knowledge and wisdom….One piece at a time, that’s how it works.
- When I was a kid, I always thought the adults had it all figured out. I thought they had a store of wisdom and knowledge, that they were confident and unafraid. As I got older, I realized that at some level we’re all faking it until we make it, we’re all trying to figure it out, one piece at a time.
- But if you work hard, are willing to keep learning, find a good balance between taking risks and being cautious, and you relentlessly apply yourself to a skill, a trade, an undertaking, an area of knowledge, one day, in a moment of epiphany, you will look up and say, “Hey, I’ve gotten pretty good at this.” Which then inspires and emboldens you to keep applying yourself, to keep learning, to keep fighting against odds, and one day perhaps become a master or expert at your vocation, in your field. But, it’s one piece at a time.
- Malcolm Gladwell wrote The Outliers in 2008 in which he regularly mentions the 10,000-hour rule, claiming the key to achieving world-class expertise in any skill is a matter of doing the skill the correct way for a total of around 10,000 hours.
- The key to acquiring wisdom is to keep your eyes and ears open, to keep applying yourself to the responsibility or responsibilities given to you, and to be resilient when you get knocked down and obstinate when you hit a brick wall, until you find a way around, over or (why not?) through the wall.
- And to know that some level of anxiety will always accompany your journey. T. S. Eliot wrote, “Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity.”
- But more importantly than anything, and this brings us to our Matthew passage, more importantly than anything is to align yourself to the right star, to be guided by the Light that will lead you, protect you and provide for you as you make uncertain steps down your life’s path. Because if you have a guiding star, even though you will make missteps or fall down and become disoriented at times in the fog and smoke and mirrors that you will encounter, all you have to do is look up and locate the star. Then you can reorient yourself and move on down the path in your life’s journey.This is the wisdom of the wise men.
- They were some of the most well-educated and wisest men of their age, men from the East. They probably had been in the gifted and talented program in their elementary school. They knew science, math, philosophy. They were up on all the latest theories. They had all the latest data. They had read all the latest books. But somewhere in their education, the wise men came upon a prophecy of a Light, a Star, that would shine over the town of Bethlehem, where a king would be born, a king for all ages and all people. Ever since, they had monitored the skies for that star and finally they saw it. One day they observed the star rising above the horizon, so they set out on a long journey to pay homage to child king to whom the light would guide them.
- On their way toward the star, they made a mistake. Even wise men make mistakes. They stopped at the palace of King Herod, to tell him of their journey and what they had seen, not knowing that King Herod was a jealous and evil man who wanted to kill the child king. Later, having been warned in a dream of Herod’s intentions, the wise men stayed clear of King Herod from that point forward.
- They journeyed far and for many days, and finally the star stopped moving and shone above a house where Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus lived. The wise men were overwhelmed with joy. Matthew says they knelt before Jesus, opened their treasure chests and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
- And in that one scene of a beautiful combination of piety and good works, the wise mean demonstrate for us what the spiritually wise do with their lives:
- They prepare and practice, waiting and watching. Didn’t we learn this during Advent?
- When they finally get a glimpse of the Light, they pursue it, relentlessly.
- They pursue life in a spiritual humility, always in a posture of kneeling before the Divine
- They open their hearts. Love guides them.
- Their response to the Divine is generosity. Their life becomes about giving.
- Apply the 10,000-hour rule to your spiritual life: Continuously and relentlessly, keep your eyes on Jesus, walk humbly through life just as your savior did, open your hearts and receive more of Him, and, in response to the abundance and grace that the Divine pours into your life, lead a life of generosity. Practice this each day without fail, and you will begin to grow in wisdom and stature, no matter what your age, no matter where you are on your life’s journey. Wisdom, strong faith and spiritual power do not accrue to us over night. It comes with a consistent openness to the Spirit and obedience to God’s Word, one step at a time.
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