Courage, Guidance, and Strength

In one of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strips, Calvin walked into the living room where his father was sitting in a chair reading. Calvin announces: “I’ve concluded that nothing bad that I do is my fault.” Dad’s curiosity is peaked, so Dad says, “Oh?”

Calvin continues: “Right! Being young and impressionable, I’m the helpless victim of countless bad influences! An unwholesome culture panders to my undeveloped values and pushes me to malfeasance. I take no responsibility for my behavior! I’m an innocent pawn! It’s society’s fault.” Dad is totally unimpressed and says, “Then you need to build more character. Go shovel the walk.” 

In the last scene, Calvin is shoveling snow and complains, “These discussions never go where they’re supposed to go.”

Like Calvin, when things fall apart, sometimes we are tempted to look for someone else to blame. I catch myself doing it all the time. It’s part of human nature – just look again at the story of Adam and Eve! However, as most of us have experienced, shifting the blame rarely solves anything. And at its worst, it keeps us from growing, adapting, or learning.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote: “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment…”

Instead of shifting blame, may you and I face our problems and trials head on, asking God for guidance, courage, and strength. 

Let us pray: Gracious God, we ask for an upwelling of hope that in the midst of life’s joys and troubles, we would know, without a doubt, that you are present, that you are with us, and that you are faithful. We turn over to you now any confusing or troubling issues that we face – and we ask for your mercy and for your guidance. Amen.