Above the Buzz

There is much to be said about leading a quiet life. Our family is enjoying a quiet week-end here in the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic nation during Holy Week. Thursday, many stores are closing early. Good Friday will be completely still with no malls or stores open. Clergy members will be busy, Churches will be packed, some even conducting services & events non-stop with members ducking out only to eat and sleep a few hours before returning. Then on Easter Sunday, retail will come back to life in force and everyone will be out and about. Especially those who had run out of food & couldn’t buy any...

We were in Bali, Indonesia recently during the week where Nyepi day falls, a Hindu holy day which calls for silence. All citizens of Bali, a Hindu community in the midst of a Muslim nation, must follow the rules from 6pm the day before and the city doesn’t come back to life until after lunch the day after. The Hindu’s fast, abstain from pleasure and are forced by local law to keep the lights (TV’s and air conditioners) off. In hotels like the one we were staying in, we were told to dim lights, pull the shades and keep noise to a minimum. They let the hotels bend the rules a bit. We were not allowed to leave or to go to the beach (only the swimming pool) because legally, nobody is allowed even to walk in the streets. The surprising thing was that at 4pm the day before Nyepi, I tried to get cash at multiple ATM’s and found them all completely turned off. Oops!

In both cases, we settle in to a quiet period of time. We prepare by piling up books, plan on catching up on our conversations, engage in family activities, pray, meditate, study, write and more... but we are the kind of family that cannot accomplish much for long if it’s ‘too quiet.’ Some people cannot work if it’s not quiet and others cannot work unless there is noise in the background. I think more people need the noise in the background in this generation then from the previous generation who needed the quiet of a library kind of environment to get things done. I call the noise ///The Buzz///

There is another kind of buzz. If you are going to do something significant with your life, if you are going to stand for something or try something new, there is going to be a buzz about you. The apostle Peter said that we should not be surprised when we experience all kinds of trials and attacks as if something unusual were happening to us. In modern society, persecution often comes in the form of gossip, bad publicity and generally from religious Christians who use worldly means to neutralize or discredit one another. In short, they create a negative BUZZ.

My thoughts? Welcome the buzz. If nobody is against you and if life is easy, then you will accomplish little. When there is noise around you, it forces you to raise your voice and stand up to be heard. What really matters will be clearer and you will learn to choose your words wisely. Timing will become more important and you will move forward in a stronger more confident stride with less worry, making every effort to accomplish your mission. And the greatest benefit of the buzz? It exposes who is truly with you, who is against you and even the biggest group... the ones who are neither for you nor against you. Notice I didn’t say you would find out who your friends are? I don’t believe knowing who your friends are matters nearly as much as you think. Some of your best friends will create the loudest buzz about you and some that you would not consider to be your friends will rally with you and will be those who will stand with you and truly encourage you in the Lord. Why? Because even though you don’t connect with them on a friendship level, they do connect with you in your vision and mission in Christ’s calling.

Welcome the Buzz! Embrace the Buzz! Rise above the Buzz and accomplish something great in this life for God! In the end, you will be someone that when you are googled a few years from now, the world will see what you have done. As for those who were buzzing about you... well, they will be the ones doing the googling...