24 Hours a Day


“…millions like ya are livin’ in a kid’s world, playin’ games, touchdowns, no worries, no responsibilities. Life ain’t no damn football game. Life ain’t just a bunch of high spots. You’re a thirty-year-old kid. Soon you’ll be a fifty-year-old kid, pretendin’ you’re hearin’ cheers when there ain’t any. Dreamin’ and drinkin’ your life away.
Heroes in the real world live twenty-four hours a day, not just two hours in a game.
-Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

We act like prolonged adolescence is a new thing.
It isn’t really.
This movie is from 1958 and gives a pretty good definition.

Maybe it’s more prevalent now with our finances and gadgets and planned procreation.
(Not that these are bad things by themselves…)

Ted Cunningham talked about it a year or two ago when he visited from Branson when he spoke about being a “Reliable Man”. It was such a solid talk that I still remember it–and reflect on it often.

(It’s long but it would be worth your while…seriously…)

Growing up is hard.
It’s a very painful process.
It takes courage. It takes strength. It takes being willing to fail.

No one wants to fail. So, unfortunately, some of us take the easy road and stay at home forever…whether it’s physically by staying at home and relying on parental units for food and clothes into our 40’s…

Or emotionally by requiring their affirmation to make any sort of decision…
Or even spiritually by being unable to step out in faith and hearing things from God for ourselves…

We all have our comforts- and they aren’t all bad.
Macaroni and Cheese with tuna always makes life better…(don’t judge me)
But I don’t eat it everyday…
I don’t even eat it every time I’m sad.

Because I don’t have to.

I’ve grown up.
I’m past that.

Some of us need to move past eating Mac-n-Cheese everyday in one way or another…
(And some of you parents may need to give your little hatchling a loving nudge out of the nest…
It’s all about that Letting Go process)

Your jaw might hurt from chewing so much at first…but go have a steak.
It’s kind of one of those things that’s worth it once you try it.

“You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food. And a person who is living on milk isn’t very far along in the Christian life and doesn’t know much about doing what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right.” Hebrews 8:12-14 (NLT)