So What is Gumption?

When discussing important topics, it is easy to get on a roll and omit such mundane things as defining terms.  Yet it is the important things that really must be defined most carefully.

Gumption is one of those important things.

Everyone who has heard of gumption probably recognizes that it is good and necessary a good life.  But what is it?

Gumption is an attitude, a way of interacting with the events of life.

An online dictionary defines it as "enterprise, initiative."  But those words alone are not able to capture what gumption means in real life.  It means a sort of strength that is uncommon among the race of mere mortals--the mental and emotional strength to withstand difficulty, to weather all storms when in search of treasure, to know the right and pursue it ceaselessly.  Gumption requires one to fight for the good and the beautiful, to stand above the soiled mobs who fight for lesser things.

Gumption is higher and broader and--dare I say it?--more romantic than a materialistic enterprise or a self-centered initiative.  There is a glow of dignity and respect in voice when one says it.  Gumption.

A man by the name of Gumption stands at the front lines of any truly vital encounter with the Enemy, holding aloft an unsoiled flag, not to bring glory to himself, but to call others to the Cause.

Gumption is a necessary ingredient of strong Christian character.  What is the good of knowing the right if one does not also seek out that good thing and cherish it and defend it from harm and die for it, if need be?  Gumption is an attribute that needs an object, a goal, a purpose.  One cannot possess gumption without putting it to some good use, for then it would cease to be gumption.  For not only is gumption an attitude and an attribute, but it is also an active thing.

Hear the trumpet calling you to battle.
Know the truth.
Love justice.
Faithfully defend the right.
Men of gumption, go forth and conquer!

Why Celebrate?

There is something intensely moving about the song "Happy Birthday," whether it moves you to run or cry or laugh or scream with joy.  It is entirely celebratory and individualistic.

But should something so individualistic as the precise moment when an individual enters the world be celebrated ever afterward?

What is really so important about a birthday?

Is there some aspect of the value of human life or the importance of the contributions of each individual to the community that warrants the celebration of birthdays?  We, notably, celebrate everyone's birthdays--both young and old.  But their contributions to society are prospective and retrospective, respectively.  Why then do we still celebrate?

Is there an intrinsic value to human life that cannot be celebrated sufficiently in any other manner?

Birthdays are very special, regardless of the number of gifts received or the wishes for a brilliant new year.  They signify a benchmark for individual growth.  When children are small, they might be measured next to a door frame.  As they enter their teens, every year becomes a benchmark to when they reach eighteen (and "adulthood") or the magical twenty (when they "get their brain back").

After individuals reach adulthood, the growth is a bit more difficult to measure sometimes.  I mean, there are still stages of life for adults; but they are less defined and they often have negative connotations.  Turning twenty-five means becoming "an old maid" or turning fifty means "going over the hill."

But what does twenty-three mean?

Is it a benchmark on the road to agedness?  Is it special in any way?  What would make it worth celebrating?

The very thing that makes other birthdays so important makes the more obscure ones precious, too--growth.

• Being twenty-three can mean having more wisdom than the year before...
• It can mean understanding God's grace more fully...
• It can mean trusting God to have your best interest at heart...
• It can mean trusting friends to be constant...
• It can mean loving the people around you every day...
• It can mean thanking God for the joys of today without impatience for tomorrow...

Yet all of these attributes that might indicate growth to the introspective individual on a birthday might also be evidences of growth throughout the year.  Birthdays are important because they give us bit of perspective on individual growth, but we are free to celebrate that growth and enjoy the journey every day.  It does not take a birthday to celebrate.

Adventure in the Blink of a Coconut's Eye

There is something particularly exciting about the little eyes on a fresh coconut.  Through them, I can see a wonderful land of adventure lying just ahead--bright, but still just a little bit hazy in the distance.  Perhaps those little eyes actually do give me the power to see the future for just an instant or perhaps (more likely) I am just remembering the adventures that I have had while opening those first two fresh coconuts.

I rather like trying new things, so when my mom heard that coconut milk was healthy and asked if I wanted her to get a fresh (I almost said live) coconut, I agreed readily.  By the time we got it home, my excitement was mounting.  A quick search on the internet garnered me about ten theories on how to open a coconut, but I had no clue which was actually best.  So I gathered all of the suggested tools that were handy--knife, ice pick, turning fork, and hammer--on the kitchen counter and began my operation.

Operation Coconut was strikingly unsuccessful at first.  I tried the turning fork, but its tines were not sharp enough to pierce anything and were too close together to fit the eyes of my coconut very nicely.  The ice pick looked quite promising, I thought; but it was not strong enough to do any material damage to that coconut.  It was tough!  I poked the knife in the direction of the coconut a few times, but it make very little dint in that strength.  Finally, I decided to call in expert assistance.

Mom got a screw driver to round out the ensemble of "kitchen tools" to be employed in our quest for coconut milk.  Using the hammer, she pounded the screw driver through those beautiful little eyes.  And, rather than seeing my adventures closed with their demise, I saw the beginning of delights.  A quarter cup of translucent coconut milk awaited my taste.  It had a full, strong flavor with the savor of coconut . . . and a receding sweetness . . . and just a hint of the bitterness of its husk.

I sincerely hope that all of the adventures awaiting beyond that tiny door, the eye of a coconut, have a similar flavor.  That I might live life to full with the strength to enjoy every moment . . .  That it might have an intensity of purpose and feeling that might be savored after the best moments had passed . . .  That it would be exceedingly sweet, especially in the quiet times . . .  And that the bitterness of disillusion and grief, of reality in a fallen world, might only touch the edges of my experience . . .  Oh, Lord!  I pray that life would be such an adventure!