worthy

Did you see Saving Private Ryan? Remember the scene in the cemetery at Arlington, when Private Ryan, then an older man, visits the graves of the men who came to get him? Remember when he turns to his family and says, “Tell me it was worth it?” Ryan, in that moment, expressed the uncertainty we all have, that our lives amounted to enough to make it all worthwhile.

I was reminded of that this morning when I read Ephesians 4:1: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

What does that mean? Well, here are a few unworthy things that I think we do all too often.

Too often we’re proud. We insist on being recognized and we resent being disrespected. But verse 2 says, “Be completely humble.”

Too often we’re harsh. Our words can be mean, and our actions intimidating. We honk and gesture, we mumble under our breath. But verse 2 also says to be gentle.

It’s hard for us to wait our turn, or to wait at all. We’re the nation of instant gratification; we want our food fast, we pay extra for next-day delivery. And when it comes to each other our fuses can be pretty short. Here’s another tidbit from verse 2: “. . . be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

And we’re really good at forming cliques. We like people who are like us, and we tend to band together. We keep out people who aren’t like us. And we’re pretty quick to take sides and attack people on the other side. But here’s Paul’s admonishment from verse 3: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Is my life worthy of my calling? Well, am I humble and gentle? Am I patient and forbearing with others? Do I try hard to keep the peace? Are my attitudes prompted by love?

Some days, yes. Too many days, no.