going classic

After the Thanksgiving Holiday Jennie and I decided to get her cross-country skis fixed and buy some used ones for the boys. Since money does not grow on trees at our house, we started by doing our homework. We checked sales, looked online, talked it over, and then decided the best fit for our needs and our budget (yeap, reality). It was quite a process but in the end we decided against buying new -- so we went “vintage” (aka pre-owned, dated, antique, second hand, used, historic, classic, old).

There is a strange dichotomy about “going classic”. On one hand no one wants old junk like a pre-owned toothbrush, or a used match; but on the other hand it’s easy to appreciate a classic car, an antique statue, an old fine wine, or a historic mansion. Since “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure”, the trick is knowing the difference between real junk and authentic treasure.

This “trick” is not limited just to our physical world (like skis, cars, or mansions); I believe it applies to ideas and life-models as well. Old ideas should not necessarily be dismissed because they are old; and new ideas should not be embraced just because they are new. Let me illustrate. “Thou shall not murder because God said so.” is a very old idea. In a society that is pushed more and more toward violence, this idea becomes even more valuable. So in our world that is filled with instant information and focused on the newest upgrade filled with the latest features, we need be very selective so that we don’t end up with junk instead of treasure.

Well, now that we have our new old skis, I’m so glad for the Internet since it helped us with our ski purchase. But I’m even more thankful for The Bible since it provides clear guidance regarding real junk and authentic treasure.

And Jesus said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Luke 12:22-34