Even the Longest Journey Must Begin Where You Stand

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." - old Chinese proverb

I recently reread a "kid's" book on basic logic...Joseph Spider and the Fallacy Farm by David B. Grant. Chapter Seven is about a snail named Shawn, who believed he could never begin a journey because he had no hope of ever completing it...so why even start.

How many of us suffer from this same state of mind? How many of life's awesome journeys have we sacrificed for fear of taking that first step? Once, many years ago, I took a client on a midnight hike on Bryce Canyon's Navajo Trail. As we hiked under the full moon, the light was awesome. We took some really exciting photographs. In addition to the night sky, one thing was especially clear that night.....as crowded as that popular hiking trail was in the daylight, nobody else took that same journey and nobody else enjoyed the same rewards. If you fail to take that first step, you cannot hope to enjoy the great outcome which lies at the other end of the adventure!
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What FALLACIES do we allow to rob us of our life aventures?

We Are Expected to Prosper!

A few years back I published this story. I wanted to revisit the concept in light of current political undertones........

Somehow there is an undertoe in our society today that "social justice" teaches us that it is evil to succeed financially. I recently reviewed a story that leads me to believe that it not only OK to succeed and prosper......it is expected by God that we do so. Most of us have heard the parable shared in Matthew 25, regarding the servants caring for their Master's resources. Have you ever considered the meaning and application in today's world?
A talent is, in this regard, a unit of weight approximately 80 pounds. In normal usage of the time, it was typically a measure of silver, equivalent to one's earnings over a 16 year period.
The Master, knowing the abilities of his servants, called upon three of them to manage things in his absence. He placed an amount of his resources under the control of each, according to that individuals's capabilities.
In reviewing these events, I don't see any specific instructions regarding how to manage things. I suspect that the servants knew their Master well enought to figue the details on their own.

The three sevants proceeded to deal with their stewardships as they saw fit......two of them doubling their investments through prudent business practices. The third servant was not as confident. Worried more about the possibility of losing in his efforts, he buried his treasure.
After a long time the Master came home. The time of reckoning had arrived.

Point to ponder here.... Which of the three sevants do each of us most closely resemble?

As the servants met individually to report on their stewardships, the Master was very pleased with the initiative of the first two, that he rewarded them with control over some of his businesses! In effect, they became partners with him.Sadly, number three, having made no effort to improve that which his Master had placed in his care, lost what he had and was sent away!