To be, or not to be? Wait, what was the question?

Let's start here, another random point in time called “Today”...

There is a thought that has occurred to me just about every time I tried to change my life for the better, or unexpectedly learned something new. I don't know if it is my own thought, or something I heard or read, but it made me smile as I looked at the new change in my life. The premise speaks for itself:

Finding answers is very hard when we don't know what the question is...

Life is huge, almost infinite in its own way. The multiple variables involved with making decisions for a single day are too numerous to list. A moment of indecision can leave us stranded and stuck for years to come. A wrong decision can send us barreling down the corridors of time living a life of unhappiness. I think sometimes our life could be more clearly defined and infinitely more rewarding if we ask more substantive questions, and have more spiritually aligned priorities.

The mistakes of my life seemed to be founded in the fact that I was asking an incorrect “life” question. The pursuit of answers to the wrong question left the door open to ask even more wrong questions which unfortunately were based on that incorrect premise. The inability to find satisfactory answers to all of my wrong questions led to indecision, depression, and addiction. Even after a decade of sobriety, I see that I was still asking the wrong question. I started attending Hillcrest while completely "lost in the wilderness".  The question I asked was this:

What is my place in the world?

I honestly believe that is a reasonable question, and undoubtedly a common question. For some people, the pursuit of that question may yield very rewarding results. Yet in my case, the result was 46 years aimlessly revolving around the sun while chasing my tail. I never did find “Ron’s place in the world”. Today I believe I could not find my place because I did not ask the right question. In the quest for my place in the world, I tried several career paths, including corporate, retail, social services, and various stints as a contractor. They seemed to be logical alternatives to the true desire of my heart that I gave up on: music. Not once did I ever feel like I had found my place, and as a result of my skewed perspective, I spent three decades living a life of unhappiness.

This year, after 26 years of so called “faith in God”, a simple shift in questions changed my life.  A new question dramatically altered my everyday life, my perspective of a relationship with God, my identity, my place in this life, and my life goals. A life of aimless wandering suddenly was transformed into a walk of faith; after years of talking the talk, I find myself suddenly walking the walk.  The question I am asking today is this:

What is my place in Christ?

To find the answers to that question, I found myself drawn deeper into God’s presence, drawn closer to God’s family and subsequently a church community, and drawn closer to my family and friends. In this new perspective of myself, I rediscovered my gifts (music, counseling, writing), and ways they can be used in God’s Kingdom. Having rediscovered myself in a new light, some new questions come to mind as to how to live a more rewarding life based upon this new foundation for living. For this healthier lifestyle, I looked to the ultimate guide for living; not just a guide, but true life lessons found in God’s Word, and God’s Commandments.

For example, when asked what the most important commandment is, Jesus did not respond by saying, "Thou shalt know your place in the world." Nope. Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and all your strength.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40).

To be honest, I am human. I am imperfect (say it ain't so). I am a sinner, with a tendency to sin even on my best days. Today, I am seeking God and Christ, and with that I am trying to find some stability with this new found focus, and discipline so that I might move at a steady forward pace to ultimately do God's will. It is with that passage from Matthew that the following questions come to mind.

Question #1: How do I love God with ALL my heart, mind, soul, and strength? Follow up questions to that are quickly added. Do I have to love God every day? What does it mean to love God? I mean what exactly do I do? What will happen if I love God? Will God love me back? I mean all my heart, soul, mind, and strength seems like a lot.

Question #2 (plus follow up questions): How do I love my neighbor? Who is my neighbor anyway? Have you ever looked at my neighbor? Am I really supposed to love my neighbor? Do you know what my neighbor did to me the other day? I don't have to love my neighbor all the time, do I? What if my neighbor is a big meanie?

By asking those questions and finding some answers, the quality of my day to day life has been vastly improved. As I learn to love, I won't be inclined to kill, steal, lie, flip the bird at the guy who cut me off, or covet my neighbor's spouse. I will, however, be more inclined to be patient, loving, kind, more determined to be of service to the world at large. And no matter how you slice it, learning how to love God and love your neighbor is a 24/7 occupation. It is not easy for a human to be loving all the time; loving ones fellow man part time can be difficult. Yet many blessings can spring forth from love, and life can be lived to the fullest, if those kinds of questions are what you seek the answers to.

The pursuit of questions pertaining to the heart of God and His design for living may very well answer many other questions, too, and allow us to set aside the questions that are not as relevant. Of course we still have to wrestle with questions pertaining to everyday living like what to fix for dinner, where will I get the money to pay the bills, what the hell are my kids getting into now, etc. Life on Earth remains the same as always. But I propose the course of our life takes a leap into an extraordinary new form of living when we ask the right questions for ourselves.

Some of these questions I discussed are right for me at this time. Of course your questions may be different...




The Bible says (paraphrased), “I am in the world, but I am not of the world”.  It turns out I may not really have a place in this world after all, not by the world’s standards. But I do have a place in God’s Kingdom, and in that I have a mission to carry out here on Earth. I’ll take that trade off any day.

I am happy to report that the pursuit of God coupled with answers to these new questions has begun to direct me to what might be called “my place in the world”, a place God created just for me. Along side my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am going to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth, the bearer of good news to all creation. Wow!  My gifts will be used for the good of those I meet along the way, and more importantly my gifts will glorify God (who is so very worthy of all glory).


I have finally found “my place”...


I leave you with these thoughts:

• Have you ever asked God a question, but got no answer? Silly me, we all have.
• What are the dominate questions in your mind and heart today? Will the answers to those questions get you to where you want to be in your life?
• Have you ever considered coming up with some new questions? Have you ever invited God to show you a question that He might be more inclined to answer?

The journey continues...

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