DENNIS did it again…this time resulting in the remains of a broken vase scattered all over the floor. His mother hears sound, looks around shocked as “the Menace” says, “Well That didn’t have a very long shelf life.
Shelf life is a significant issue in household and medical matters. So much so that “the Shelf-Life Extension Program weas established in 1986. This program was designed to prevent the need to replace entire stockpiles every few years at significant expense, and because it was recognized that certain products remained stable beyond their labeled expiration dates when properly stored.
But shelf life is a broader issue than that. It’s common to see staff persons in grocery stores taking goods off shelves and replacing them with “fresh” ones. If my wife calls and asks me to pick up some milk on my way home, she always reminds me, “Look at the user date on the carton.”
Styles also have shelf life. I know it dates me when I mention bell bottom trousers and flat top haircuts.
Let me share a couple of things that don’t have a shelf life. Time and circumstances don’t alter them. The divisions so prominent in our country and the hatred that is crippling our major political parties prompt the first thing that comes to my mind: a forgiving spirit. It is a timeless value essential for human thriving, even survival. We can’t ignore the fact that this at the core of the prayer Jesus taught us, “Forgive us our sins—as we forgive those who sin against us.”
Not only forgiving, a giving spirit. It may not be dominant among us, but even apart from being the recipient of it, we still celebrate generosity when we see it.
Considering those character traits and ways of living that have no limited shelf life is the best antidote I know for those things that are “driving us crazy” today. I urge you to engage in that thoughtful consideration. Allow this timeless certainty to pervade. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (1Chronicles 16:34)