The Importance of Being Earnest

From Feburary 9, 2009:

If you’re thinking that this is an article about the much-loved Oscar Wilde play by the same title, you would be wrong.  I hope for your sake that you weren’t hoping for a commentary on the merits and drawbacks of the name Ernest.  No, what I want to write about is the true importance of being earnest.  To be earnest is to be serious in intention, purpose, or effort.  There are other definitions of earnest that you can find in your dictionary (I bet the big green one is particularly interesting, for those of you that have one).  With our definition in mind, the questions to ask yourself follow: Am I earnest?  In my faith?  With my family?  At work?  Wherever I find myself?

Let us begin with the general question: Am I earnest?  Do I approach my life with intention and purpose?  Do I plan out my day, my week, my year?  Don’t misunderstand what my intent is with this article.  I am not by any stretch of even the most vivid imagination suggesting that we are to out plan God.  It can’t be done.  Why would you even want to try to do such a thing?  No, what I am asking is whether we set about with a plan in mind (maybe a list of goals to accomplish) or not.  I myself (as some I’m sure can attest to) have trouble with planning out my day to accomplish all that I should.  I can schedule this and that for next week, next month, and probably even next year, but when it comes to planning (and actually accomplishing) my activities for the day, I am the most unmotivated, underachiever there could possibly be.  Thus the reason for chewing on the topic of earnestness.  To me being earnest ties into being a good steward and having integrity.  Those three things all sort of bring to mind a connection for me.  After you’ve taken time to decipher your general earnestness level, move on to the next question.

Am I earnest in my faith?  Do you have seriousness of intent, purpose, and effort in your faith?  Is your walk with your Abba Father where you want it to be?  Do you purpose in your heart to shine your light on, share your heart with, and open your arms to those around you?  What steps could you take right now to make that possible?  I regularly struggle to draw closer to God through prayer and Bible reading.  I find myself hungry and thirsty for those delicious things, but I let something else slip into that slot on my priority board.  Why?  I guess because my earnest reading is dropping rather than rising.  The goal for us, as Christians, should be for our meter reading to climb higher rather than drop lower.  With that in mind, make it your priority to grow closer to Christ in all things and all ways.  Let your earnestness for Him overflow to the point where those around you can’t ignore it.  I don’t mean get in their face and shove it down their throat.  I mean live your life intentionally, so your love for and relationship with Christ cannot be missed or hidden.  These articles that I write are not only to give all of you something to think about, but they are also to motivate me to work on things in my own life.  Something I certainly need to do in this particular area.

Moving on to our next question, we arrive at: Am I earnest with my family?  Wow!  If the last question wasn’t a tough one for you, maybe this one will be.  Do you find yourself not communicating the way you used to in your marriage?  What ever happened to those conversations that weren’t entirely centered around concepts like – what’s for supper, who’s turn is it to take out the trash, did you call about the front tire, where did you put my toothbrush, why is the toilet paper on this way again, have you decided about the new hedge clippers, and so on.  You think that communication is overrated, but I would say that many married couples with struggles in their marriage would tell you that communication in their relationship either doesn’t exist or is fading into oblivion.  Why do we think that if we don’t put the work in we’ll still have a beautiful rosebush in our yard?  It can’t grow without proper care, food, water, fertilizer, etc.  Yet time and time again you (and I) have decided that it can just hang on until tomorrow.  This thing is like that big elephant sitting in the corner that we aren’t supposed to talk about.  You know the one I mean.  Did you forget to wash the car, take the garbage out, buy that gallon of milk on the way home?  Does it really matter in the long run?  No!  I’ve been the one behind the pointing finger, and I can honestly tell you that NO! it doesn’t matter.  So take a step back and become intentional and purposeful in how you relate to your spouse.  Be EARNEST. 

Family is not limited to marriages.  Marriages produce children.  And we must also be earnest with our children.  We must set about to have that special relationship that only a parent can have with a child.  We must pray over them, love on them, discipline them, care for them, cheer them, encourage them, teach them, and so the list goes.  If we take the point of view of some parents, we will step back and be aloof with our children.  But I believe children need “hands on” parents.  What I mean is parents who are involved, they build towers out of blocks, do math problems, get their fingers in the finger paint, cut out paper dolls, throw the football, sit through the night when all they can do is hold the puke bucket and pray, open their Bible to the gospels and tell about the good things Jesus has done, hold the back of the bike while running behind, take the snowsuit off for the fifth time so someone can run to the bathroom, clean up the mashed potatoes that landed on the floor again, get down on their knees and pray for safety, watch as the front door of the school closes, applaud when the dance is over (mistakes and all), cheer when the basketball team loses by four points, give hugs and kisses, bake cookies.  I think you probably get the idea behind “hands on” parents.  The point is that we need to be intentional in our parenting.  Parenting of children under the age of eighteen is, of course, different than parenting an adult child.  After children turn eighteen, I imagine a new guidebook is needed.  I would say that parenting an adult child needs to be very intentional as well.  Just because a child is an adult does not mean that parents should withdraw their earnestness.  Earnestness is still needed, possibly even more so.

Coming to our next question, we arrive at: Am I earnest at work?  This is a significant question, especially in today’s marketplace.  With so many people around us believing that there are no rules and therefore no consequences, we need to be vigilant in our workplace earnestness.  We need to be serious in our intent to operate with integrity as we go about our workday.  This is a great way to show our employer and our coworker that intent is important.  We are serious about not stealing company time, company supplies, and company funds.  We don’t intend to let that deadline slip by without making our best effort to meet it.  Intentionality is something that can really be crucial at work.  Earnestness at work is one of those places where integrity and stewardship really tie in.  Are we intentional at work?  Can those around us see that?  Examine yourself and your motives throughout your workday and see if you find any actions that lack earnestness.  It can be a difficult thing to do, but won’t you feel better knowing that this part of your life is in line with the others?  God wants us to be earnest in all areas of life.  And we all know that all means all.

Finally, ask yourself: Am I earnest wherever I find myself?  We must be earnest wherever we find ourselves.  When we go on vacation, we should be intentional with our time and with the activities we choose.  If a vacation falls over a Sunday, do you look in the local yellow pages for a place to worship?  Maybe you can set aside time to spend in praise, pray, and Bible study with your fellow vacationers.  Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean God is.  Just taking time in your hotel room to be intentional would be an awesome thing.  When you find yourself at the grocery store overflowing with customers, are you earnest?  Do you complain that there are fifty people in the aisle that you need to go down?  I’ve been there and I’ve probably done that, but shouldn’t we be intentional in our behavior and be patient?  Look for opportunities in your everyday life to be earnest, be intentional, and make an effort.  Look for ways to do this and set an example for others around you.  The importance of being earnest really comes down to where your heart is.  Is your heart aimed at pleasing your Heavenly Father in all things and in all ways?  If your heart is aimed in such a way, then you are certainly pointing in the right direction to work on being earnest.  Wherever you find yourself, at any given time, ask yourself:  Am I being earnest?  The answer will tell you where your earnestness meter is and help you to know where you may need to make improvements.  God has given us so much, and we have so much to give.  Let’s continue remember the true importance of being earnest!