MORE ON THE OLD MAN ...

MORE ON THE OLD MAN ...

I want to continue where I left off yesterday on the picture of the "old
man" written by Ruth Paxson in her classic work LIFE ON THE HIGHEST
PLANE. What intrigued me was that she wrote this in 1945 and yet its
words are as fresh and update as if she just wrote it ... As a reminder
from yesterday, she wrote: "The foundation of life in the NATURAL MAN is
foursquare: self-will, self-love, self-trust, and self-exaltation, and
upon this foundation is reared a superstructure that is one HUGE capital
"I." Self-will is the cornerstone and self-exaltation is the capstone."

SELF-SEEKING - "the old man: is on a quest: he is after whatever will
advance the cause of self. He seeks with feverish ambition and activity,
praise, position, power, prominence, and anything that checks his
gaining them is attributed to others.

SELF-PITY - his love for HIMSELF often creates within "the old man"
rebellion against his circumstances or relationships; he exaggerates his
own possible suffering, discomfort or sorrow and makes himself and
others miserable by his habitual murmuring.

SELF-SENSITIVENESS - "the old man" is extremely hard to live with
because he is covered with wounds and is continually being hurt afresh.
He is not very companionable because usually he is dissolved in tears,
shrouded in silence, or enjoying a pout.

SELF-DEFENSE - "the old man" is very jealous of his rights and busy
avenging his wrongs. He indulges freely in lawsuits. In his pursuit of
his own vindication and justification in cases of disagreement and
estrangement with others, he is blinded by his own sin.

SELF-TRUST - "the old man" is very self-confident and feels no need of
one wiser and stronger than himself. Trusting in his own powers and
resources he is prone to say, "Though all me shall deny You, I will
not."

SELF-SUFFICIENCY - the self-confidence of "the old man" fosters an
egotistical, smug, self-satisfaction which leaves him stagnant. He has
neither desire nor sense of need for anything beyond what he already
possesses.

More tomorrow ... but this is the "old man" that Paul instructs us to
"PUT OFF!" Do a self-examination this morning. Who is reigning in your
life today?

Great Quote: Happy is the person who not only sings, but feels God's eye
is on the sparrow, and knows He watches over me. To be simply ensconced
in God is true joy. How small a portion of our life it is that we really
enjoy! In youth we are looking forward to things that are to come; in
old age we are looking backward to things that are gone past; in
manhood, although we appear indeed to be more occupied in things that
are present, yet even that is too often absorbed in vague determinations
to be vastly happy on some future day when we have time. -- C. C. Colton