Living a Solid State Lifestyle

You’ve probably heard the story of the parent who remembers walking six miles to and from school in knee-deep snow, uphill both ways. My childhood wasn’t that colorful, but I do remember things that most Millennials would never believe. For instance, TVs without remotes, with three channels – and tubes.

There was nothing solid about
the state of TVs like this one.

Our television sets (that’s what “TV” stands for, lest we forget) were prehistoric by today’s standards. At first we had just three channels: ABC, CBS, and NBC. In only black-and-white, no less, How did humanity survive such deprivation? Eventually, the channel options expanded to as many as 13. Apparently the “techies” of the day didn’t realize or believe the number 13 was considered by some to be unlucky. We could never have envisioned then the hundreds of channel choices we have today.

A remote control for the TV was unheard of. To change channels, we had to make the dangerous trek through deep shag carpet, reach out and turn a circular dial. Oldsters will recall we had another dial for adjusting the picture. One good thing about having just a trio of channels was we didn’t have to get up that often. Sometimes after so much turning, the channel changer would wear out, making it hard to tune in, but that’s another story.

What I remember most were the tubes that populated the back of the TV set. They came in all sizes, serving all manner of functions. Brightness, vertical and horizontal controls, contrast. The biggest one was the main TV tube with the screen. When that went out, it meant time to buy a new TV. But there were many smaller tubes; when the TV started having problems, the trick was to figure out which was the culprit.

Then, thanks to the space age, “solid state” circuitry was invented, making TV tubes obsolete. Satellite technology was applied to many household devices, opening exciting new vistas. No more replacing burnt-out tubes; they were replaced by transistors and circuit boards. Exploratory forays to the back of the TV became unnecessary. TV repairmen became collateral damage, but that was the price of progress.

Solid-state design also revolutionized radios. Fear of jostling an appliance, rendering it unworkable was eliminated. Bulkiness became a thing of the past, and we no longer had to fret over delicate handling of the devices. No more fragile tubes to jiggle around and loosen.

In Jesus’ day, of course, solid-state technology wasn’t even a figment of anyone’s imagination. But He did address the importance of what we might term, “solid-state spirituality.” Sitting on a mountainside one day, in the midst of His “sermon on the mount,” Jesus told a parable about two builders, one wise and one foolish (Matthew 7:24-27). The first chose to use a solid, rock foundation for the house he built; the other elected to build a house on sand. 

Both houses seemed stable until a storm came, bringing torrential rains and strong winds. Predictably, the house on solid rock stood firm, while the house on sand fell with a decisive, resounding crash. This story marked the culmination of Jesus’ message, summarizing His expansive admonition for people to submit to God and place their faith in Him for every aspect of life. 

We don’t have to ponder too long to arrive at an application for our own lives. Storms in life are rarely predicted. As someone has said, life is what happens when we’re busy making other plans. Illnesses, financial setbacks, broken-down cars or appliances, calamities of many sorts. All have a way of turning our world upside-down. That’s when solid-state spirituality matters most.

Faith in God doesn’t insulate us from adversity. But it enables us to weather those storms, even if it means sometimes hanging on by our fingernails, until the calm returns. Those without faith have only their own resources to call upon, and often those are woefully insufficient. But our trust in the Lord enables us to pray, as the psalmist did, “Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly” (Psalm 102:1-2).

Often in times of trouble I’ve turned to the Psalms and found both comfort and reassurance. One of my favorites is Psalm 118:14, “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” This verse is true even in quiet, peaceful times, but when the tumult returns – as happens in each of our lives, ready it or not – it serves as a reminder that God has enabled me to build my “house,” my life, upon the Rock. Anything else we turn to in life is shifting, unstable sand.

A life founded on the solid Rock, Jesus Christ, might be shaken up from time to time, but we don’t have to fear a permanent, cataclysmic crash. As I write this, a beloved member of our family is dealing with a serious health challenge. But knowing she’s in the Lord’s hands, we can trust in Him, as King David did when he wrote, “In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me” (Psalm 86:17).

What’s the state of your spirituality? Is it solid?

Values and Decision-Making

Decision-making can be both fun and frustrating. Some decisions are simple and inconsequential: what to eat for breakfast; what shirt or dress to wear; what color to paint the wall; what restaurant to select for an evening meal.

Other decisions carry considerable weight: what college to attend and what to study; what career to pursue; who to marry; how to manage your finances; how to budget your time; which people to associate with; even what house to buy, and where to live.

So while some decisions fall under the “I don’t care, you pick” category, others can truly prove to be life-changing – for good or for not so good. So how do we go about deciding on the more important choices in life? An insightful quotation I read recently offers some helpful advice.

Even in all its grandeur, Disney's
famed Cinderella's Castle rests
on its foundation for stability.

Almost everyone has heard of Walt Disney, the creative visionary whose dreams turned into live and animated movies, TV programming, music, and theme parks. But other members of his family made important contributions to the success of the Disney brand. One of them was the late Roy E. Disney, whose father, Roy O. Disney – Walt’s brother – was co-founder of The Walt Disney Company.

The younger Roy spent many years as a senior executive with the company. His quote in question: “When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.” It’s a simple statement, but quite profound nonetheless.

Values the Disneys embraced through the years have guided them in developing such delightfully popular characters and projects as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy; “Mary Poppins”; TV’s Mickey Mouse Club, Disneyland and Walt Disney World; “Snow White”; “Toy Story,” Nemo, and a seemingly endless list of other entertainment classics.

In a sense, those values Roy Disney referred to served as the foundation for the Disney empire’s achievements many of us have enjoyed. But this is true not only for all things Disney, but also for any enterprise, whether a different kind of business or organization, a family, or even individuals. Making major decisions without the guidance of clearly established values typically leads to a murky result at best.

Jesus spoke about the importance of a foundation – the right foundation. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had the foundation of the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25).

He contrasted that with “a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:26-27).

The passage says many who heard these words were amazed, since Jesus spoke with great authority, but surely there were some who dismissed what He had to say. They had no interest in doing what He said or following His teachings. Sadly – according to Jesus – the values they were choosing instead were the equivalent of building sand castles.

I’ve learned – as have many of my friends – that having clear values in fact does ease the decision-making process, especially for challenging matters. Do we dabble in the areas of temptation to which we know we’re susceptible? Do we pursue lofty goals that could prove detrimental to cherished relationships? Do we spend more than we can afford on things we want, resulting in becoming “servant to the lender,” as Proverbs 22:7 describes it? Do we devote time to unproductive diversions, at the expense of more important commitments?

We don’t need to become legalistic, placing a taboo on anything that hints at being fun. But as my friend Oswald Chambers often states in his devotional writings, even good things can be the enemy of things that are best for us.

So as we strive to clarify and then hold true to our values, as Roy E. Disney suggested, we can discover that making key decisions is much easier than we thought.