I'm out today without having to roll up the sleeves of my T-shirt because I remembered that my mum doesn't like it.
As I got dressed for the field this morning in my branded T-shirt, ready to roll up the sleeves as usual, I remembered that my mum once told me that rolling up the sleeves of my shirt wasn't cute. But I love to wear my T-shirts that way. The last time she told me, I agreed and responded obediently, but I got back home with my sleeves rolled up🙄.
Here I am today, wearing my T-shirt without rolling up the sleeves, in honour of my mum. This seemingly simple memory has just reminded me again that not so many of the things we think matter to us truly matter.
Those arguments don't truly matter.
The fights are so unnecessary.
Many of the major and minor things that occupy our days do not truly matter.
So I asked myself, What percentage of the things that occupy a man's lifetime truly matter? Since the answer may not be universal but rather dependent on our individual interests and beliefs, the Bible sums up the issue with these rhetorical questions: "For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36–37).
Look good and be fashionable while still preserving your soul.
Succeed as much as you can, but not at the expense of your soul.
Make enough money to enjoy the comfort you desire, but do not let your soul go in exchange for it.
Make friends and have all the fun you can in this one life, but let it not cost you your soul.
In all that you do, do all you can to preserve your soul.
Every teaching, ideology or preaching that silently says your soul must be exchanged for whatever you need to enjoy life is a lie from the pit of hell.
At the end of our journey, we will see that most of the things we count do not really count.
Yes, I'm out with my T-shirt sleeves unrolled, and I still feel good, really. Whether they are rolled up or down, it doesn't matter. In the same way, you can let go of some of the things you hold in high esteem and still feel great. If you choose to, you may discover that they are not as serious as they seem.
My mum can be rest assured that today, I will return home with my sleeves still unrolled.
What's that one thing you've held on to for so long, only to eventually discover that it doesn't actually count?
