[00:00:11] What's worthwhile? It's a question we all need to answer for ourselves. I'm Ramsay Zimmerman. As for me, it's building mind, body and spirit wellness. Let's ponder the big questions together as we seek peace of mind, vitality of body, and joy of spirit.
[00:00:39] A year or two ago, I got to preach at church about Jonah. Jonah was famously swallowed by a giant fish. Often when I preach, I examine or imagine what it would be like to be one of the main characters in the passage, see if I relate to them. So naturally, I tried on the idea of being like Jonah. Was I in the belly of a fish? That's generally accepted as a metaphor for being stuck and unproductive because you are ignoring or refusing God's true calling for you in your life, or at least at that moment in your life. I tried it on and decided that, no, I wasn't in the belly of a fish. I felt something different. I felt like I was in a shark cage. You know, like on the Discovery Channel during Shark Week. The divers with the cameras are lower down in these steel cages where the sharks come up and bite the bars very impressively with their rows of teeth. Who in their right mind would go out into the water and down into a shark cage? Hadnt they ever seen a shark based horror movie? Dont the lines break, the cages fall, the oxygen tanks run low, and the bars bend. Like every time I felt like I was in a shark cage, I didnt really know if there were sharks in the water. I hadnt actually seen any yet. Id heard about them, about how they are drawn to blood and movement, how they bite and ruin your life and your career if you speak out or step out of line, say the wrong thing, anger the wrong people on social media. Wait, what social media? What are we even talking about anymore? The shark cage was of my own making. It was self censorship based on fear. I've suspected and known for a long time that many things don't add up. Many emperors have no clothes on. I read a lot of stuff online, but didn't ever say anything. I didn't have the courage. Even though I was out in the open ocean of free thinking ideas, I was not out swimming around and engaging. I was staying safely in my shark cage at the time. I didn't really ask myself why I was out in the presumably shark infested water in the first place. Did I go out there willingly? Was I tossed overboard like Jonah? Was there even a boat up there that I could get on if I wanted to? Perhaps more importantly, maybe in retrospect, the real question was, did anyone know I was out there at that time a couple years ago? And up until then, I was pretty quiet and normal looking and boring. Probably I present as a normie, still do. Inside my shark cage, I didn't make noise or splashes or waves. I just floated there, watching, sensing the darkness and coldness of the water, imagining what the sharks could do to me if I got out of line. Why was I in the water in the first place? That's where God put me. He chose me. Chose to show me things and tell me things and point me to sources of perspectives other than the official story, the approved narrative about how the world worked and what's going on. I've been in the water, in my shark cage for decades. Through the bars, I've seen bullets shot at presidential candidates. Primaries decided by superdelegates instead of voters, people fired for not taking experimental gene therapy injections, cloth and fiber weaves ten times larger than viruses required to be worn over the mouths of children. Young people confused about everything, including whether they are a boy or a girl. Elections decided by boxes of electronic ballots delivered in the wee hours of the morning. Entire regions of the world upended by convenient coups and even skyscrapers, ignoring the basic laws of physics, thermodynamics, and mechanics by falling at near freefall speed into piles of dust and pools of liquid steel. Based on what? Fires and structural damage 80% of the way up their height. Like I said, I'd been in the shark cage for decades. And yeah, it's dark and the water's cold, but I realized this morning that I'm not in there anymore. I'm swimming or floating or riding through the water on some currents or something. Point is, I'm not behind the bars anymore. Where are the sharks? Probably on the way, right? Maybe. Maybe not. These days, I'm only making little splashes, just starting to kick my feet, telling people to get outside more, feel the sun on their faces, walk around, eat more whole foods, don't take their screens to bed with them. Little things, perhaps, little disruptions. But I gotta say, it feels good to stretch, to kick my legs and move my arms a bit. I suspect I'll want to make bigger noises, take on bigger topics. Then maybe some more people will realize I'm out here in the water. I might not look so normal anymore. I might aggravate some sharks. They might start circling. It could happen. So why risk it? Why do it? Why leave the safety of that shark cage? Why stay in the water? At all. Love. Love. I suppose that's a non sequitur. But every time I ask God what he wants me to do about anything, he tells me to love. Go out and find the people I want you to love. See all those people love them because I do, because they are worth saving. I, Ramsay, am not capable of saving anybody. That's God's job. I feel called to speak truth in love, out of love, for the sake of love, in order to love. The Bible calls us to love ourselves, love our families, love our neighbors as ourselves, even to love our enemies, and especially to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. As you've heard me say a lot lately, I choose to focus on building mind, body and spirit wellness. As we grow in peace of mind, vitality of body, and joy of spirit, we are better able to love. And love builds all of those things. It is a virtuous circle, a beautiful thing. And for today, that is enough.
[00:06:55] Thank you for asking. What's worthwhile? Visit whatsworthwhile.net to learn more about me, Ramsay Zimmerman and please provide your name and email to become a supporter. I'm asking for prayer, advice, feedback and connections. The what's worthwhile podcast is on Spotify, Apple, iHeart and Amazon. You can also
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