In this powerful 10 minute video we are given a true-to-life view of what “adulting” is really like. David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech to the 2005 class at Kenyon College is profound. The lesson?

Learn how to think. Learn how to choose.

CHOOSE LIFE.

This lesson is not new. God commands us to “choose life”. That is a no-brainer, right? But if we don’t know how to think, we won’t know how to choose. So we default. And what is our default setting? The Bible makes it clear that the mind of the flesh is death. But the mind of the Spirit is life and peace (see Romans 8:6). Are you struggling with your default setting? You have to learn how to think like Christ. Only then will you be able to make powerful life-giving choices. Only then will you be able to truly “choose life”.

In this powerful speech David Foster Wallace talks about the power of choice and the inherent freedom it brings from our natural default setting. The principle he sets forth is not new. God Almighty teaches us the same principle: that if we will learn how to think like Him and choose life, we can overcome the default setting and all the destructive patterns it brings. That default is the same for all of us — it’s the mind of the flesh which brings death.

Life is not easy. As spiritual as our lives are, they are also intensely practical. It’s important to remember that God is very much involved in the practical things of everyday life which, to us, may seem very “unspiritual”, “carnal”, or “temporal”. Yet this is precisely where God’s Spirit takes opportunity and intervenes. This is where His glory and goodness comes to light. Learning how to live within the practical is found in His command to “choose life” — every moment of every day. We are called to be in this world; not of it. And that means our practical lives are to shine with the light of Christ in the mundane tasks that make us ask the rhetorical question, “This is water?”

To choose life, we must learn to think like Christ with the mind of the Spirit, thereby ditching the default setting of our flesh.

We can all relate to the mundane tasks of adult life that take their toll on the best of us. It gets hard. It’s not fun. And if we’re not careful, we can begin to feel like we’re very alone in this world, which can create a very self-centered orb that drags us into a pit of discouragement, depression, and even despair. That’s where the default setting brings death.

But we’re not alone in this world.

Let’s remember: This is water. We’re all fish. And we’re all in the same “fish bowl”. Learning how to think like Christ and learning how to choose is the key.

Just keeping it real. I hope this unique and powerful video encourages you.

Cheers & Shalom,

Video Credit: YouTube standard license | 2005 Kenyon College commencement speech by David Foster Wallace: “This is Water” | Film Produced by The Glossary

Image Credit: Kaori | Pixabay