“Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.” Psalm 34:3

We were standing on ‘The Corner’ displaying Jesus signs to the cars passing by. I noticed one of the men NOT at his normal location. As with everything done repeatedly, humans are GREAT at habit and predictability. He was out of place and standing where ‘I’ usually stand. Visiting together, the reason for his new location came in the form of a deep question, starting with the tricky word…”WHY?”

I LOVE ‘WHY’ questions. As a rebellious preacher’s kid, I asked a LOT of them. NOT because I wanted to fight or rebel. But because I simply wanted to understand! My friend, who was standing beside me, asked his question for the very same reason! I started the discussion by asking HIM a series of questions. Questions that would set the tone and basis for a Godly answer.

I was a Boy Scout growing up. When my sons grew, I became a Scoutmaster. The whole experience of Boy Scouts was to slowly, and literally, turn boys into men. To do that, we often got down to basics by separating ourselves from the world of comfort, going off into the woods! There, living in tents, EVERYTHING was intended toward the purpose of building men.

As with anything, there are different ways of looking at things. If a boy was just out there just to have fun, it quickly became apparent. Duties, cleaning, teamwork and skill building would always be met with whines and groans. But when the underlying purpose of WHY we were there became the individual’s goal, learning and growing simply became an intense experience.

Maybe, because I asked the question of God so much, I can often hear HIM ask it of me. “WHY are you doing that… is there a reason for that thought or action. What are you trying to gain from the answer? Why DIDN’T you do THAT?” I have learned that if everything I do is intent on glorifying God, ‘The Master’ will ALWAYS be WITH ME. But my relationship with Him only grows with the right intent and intensity!

WHAT and WHY do you do, or NOT do, what you do or don’t do? Since God loves the WHY question, He wants you to be like a Boy Scout and live – In Tents!