I got up early and did some work on my property. An entire side of my little homestead is completely overgrown by wild blackberries, ivy, and wild roses. And too many other things to identify. So from time to time, I wander out with a machete and some other tools and try to make a dent in it. I hacked at it for about an hour and decided to head in and get ready for my day job.
As I headed in, I recognized that I’d gotten a pretty good workout. Then, disappointment. I hadn’t put my Apple Watch on yet. If the calories burned aren’t tracked, do they count?
Wow! What a disconnect from reality!
It seems like an innocent thought. We all seem to go there now that so many things are shared on the internet. Photos of all the interesting visits to restaurants or the theater. Any event participated in. Every personal goal achieved. Anything worth doing is worth sharing, right?
What is the perception of a generation that has no value for anything done in secret? What does that mean for all of the difficult things done that build our character or even our bodies that no one else knows about?
It brings this verse to mind.
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
Matthew 6:3 ESV
Sometimes, the most important things we do are done in secret. A secret between you and God that is.
There’s a saying: “Let the results speak for themselves.”
There’s the immediate reward of pride in sharing that I worked out, and there’s the hard-won reward of actually being healthy. One is easy but fleeting. The other is far more difficult but has lasting rewards for life.
It’d be great if the whole world would choose hard work and reality over the shiny and the easy. Maybe I should start with myself first though.
I hope I can choose to invest in myself and sow seeds for a better future. To choose to do the good work that reaps real rewards rather than momentary applause from others.
What do you think?